Abhijeet Gupta vs AICF: 5-Time Champion Slams Unpaid Prize Dues

The reasons behind this argument is nothing other than Abhijeet Gupta’s winning from various National events and some incentive money from the federation. For someone of his stature and stature to be a five time Commonwealth champion, to lead the Indian team in various Chess Olympiads, it is not the cash factor alone that is the major issue but it is a clear disrespect shown to professionals involved in the sport. The statement also points out the flaw in our system where players are forced to ‘slam’ the authorities regardless of their fame and achievements. The incident also brings to mind similar issues that some of the players have previously encountered with these sports administrations.

Abhijeet Gupta Criticizes AICF Over Delayed Payments

• It is reported that there is a lot of fuss in the accounting department for disbursement of money on prize money that was long ago organized.
• The silence on part of the authorities, as mentioned by the complainant, makes the injury deeper than simply a delay in the reward money.
• One can always guess that a player who is into professional Grandmaster requires prize money to cover travelling expenses and attending tournaments.
• As an Arjuna Awardee such a treatment from national associations proves it that what the nation’s best talents must be going through.
• Players require transparency on payments to avoid similar issues in the future when trying to earn monetary rewards.

The Growing Divide Between Talent and Administration

It also needs to be mentioned that the world of Indian chess is gaining a significant position all over. It is during such an occasion, the open statement by an Indian Grandmaster shows there are definite loopholes in the player support system. A very aggressive player on the chessboard Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta has come forward in a serious effort to play chess on justice, but as reported by him the administration has not been providing him with support, and the only thing the federation does is award their players with fame after their success. He aims to earn 5.5 Lakh.

Despite observing quite a lot of positive transformations in Indian sports, the matter of delayed payments still remains quite evident. There is a very thin difference between earning huge sums as prize money and suffering a financial crisis due to non-payments in the sport of Chess, and such cases surely prove detrimental to talented athletes. Gupta’s protest to the national chess governing body is indeed a wake up call to look into payment and monetary distributions. An issue also rises as to what will it take for a responsible nation to take care of its heroes, even in the petty amount of 5.5Lakh which was claimed by the Indian Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta publically.

Implications for the Indian Chess Community

We will have to wait and see what is the response by the All India Chess Federation towards this outpour of the Indian Grandmaster. But looking at history, issues are always settled with technicalities by using the ‘fast track’ process. Gupta isn’t just searching for his cheque, but he wants a sports administration which is honest and cares for its players, so that the players don’t need to search for cash. The entire Indian Chess fraternity has joined hands and demands that this issue should be looked into with complete detail of all the financial accounts. This case could be a major turning point for the rights and pride of Indian Grandmasters.

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