Within 24 hours after becoming the youngest FIDE World Cup champion, 19-year-old Javokhir Sindarov flew back home to Uzbekistan. Understandably, the young grandmaster was craving to be home after a month of being camped in Goa’s Arpora. For Sindarov, his stay in Goa culminated in him becoming a World Cup winner by defeating grandmaster Wei Yi of China in the tiebreak in the final on Wednesday. Sindarov had not just won the final, but he had won an event that has a reputation for being very volatile The teenager also became the first Uzbek chess player to win the World Cup and take home a prize purse of $1,20,000 along with the newly-christened Viswanathan Anand Cup. The event also saw him secure a spot in the Candidates tournament.
But this was nothing compared to what awaited him at home when he landed in Tashkent. A welcoming party with women wearing colourful traditional attire, boys waving Uzbek flags and what looked like a military marching band were at hand to welcome him at Tashkent International Airport. An official helped Sindarov wear a traditional robe. Then, the young Uzbek player was gifted a three-bedroom apartment, cash prize worth reportedly $10,000 and a state title of “Honored Athlete of the Republic of Uzbekistan”. His coaches were also awarded monetary prizes.
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Among the dignitaries present to welcome Sindarov at the airport was Uzbekistan’s Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov besides representatives of sports organizations.
Javokhir Sindarov with Grandmother Jamil Sindarova. (Michal Walusza/FIDE)
Previously, there was a clip on the internet showing Uzbek president Shavkat Mirziyoyev mentioning the teen grandmaster and congratulating him for winning the FIDE World Cup in India.
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After winning the title in Goa, the Uzbek GM spoke about how playing in India has been quite fruitful for him and how India and Uzbekistan could be competing for a lot of honours in the future. “India seems to be bringing a lot of luck. Yes, last time when I was in India, I won the Olympiad. After three years, I have won the World Cup. I’m very happy.
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“India has a lot of very good players and the younger generation is also coming up too fast. In the next 10 years we will be fighting a lot for Olympiads and many other tournaments,” he added.
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