— Photo: H. Satish

FEELING PROUD: Koneru Humpy and P. Harikrishna pose for the lensmen on their arrival at the Hyderabad airport on Friday.

HYDERABAD: It's celebration time for Koneru Humpy. The young chess star is back from the Doha Asian Games after a golden double, winning the individual rapid and the team event.

But, there is a tinge of disappointment when she talks about the topic of Dronacharya Awardees, at least from Andhra.

While Humpy is happy about her success she feels that her father-cum-coach Koneru Ashok who played a major role behind the scene deserves more recognition.

Humpy's query

"Doesn't my father deserve the Dronacharya Award at least after this achievement?" is the query by the WGM in an exclusive chat with The Hindu after her return.

The 19-year-old Humpy believes that the award for Ashok could further motivate her to achieve more laurels.

"It is not that I am short of confidence or anything like that. But these are awards which have their own special significance and inspire us to set bigger goals," she said.

Memorable feat

She is the World No. 2 and her most memorable feat was when she beat the record of her childhood idol Judith Polgar to become the then youngest ever woman to achieve the GM title at the age of 15 years, one month and 27 days.

"What more should I achieve? she asked. "I don't think I need to look for a second one at this stage. My father is good enough to coach me," said Humpy.

No running around

Ashok, however, made it clear that he was not going to run around to get the award. "We leave it to the officials concerned," he said without wanting to get into any sort of a debate.

Thanks to IM Lanka Ravi, Humpy is now an officer in ONGC, which has eased the financial burden to a large extent.

Ashok knows the sacrifices he made to see the emergence of Humpy amidst adversity. Let's wait and see if Humpy's wish is fulfilled.

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