Jalandhar chess player honoured with National Youth Award

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, January 17

City’s golden girl in chess Mallika Handa (26), who has won several medals in national and international championships, was presented the National Youth Award (2019-20) by Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur at an impressive ceremony of the 26th National Youth Festival held at Hubballi in Karnataka on Monday.

The event was organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. Mallika was one of the 19 youngsters from across India and only person from Punjab to have received this award. The award was given to these youngsters for their outstanding services to the community and achieving great heights in their respective fields.

Talking to Jalandhar Tribune, an elated Renu Handa, mother of Mallika said her daughter is fortunate to have received this country’s biggest youth award for her achievements. She said Mallika is suffering from 90 per cent hearing disability and speech impairment but despite that she has won many national and international championships in chess.

She said her daughter was the first Indian girl to win gold in the International Deaf and Dumb Chess Championship. Besides, she was an eight-time gold medallist of the National Chess Championship for the Deaf. “Union Minister Anurag Thakur and other dignitaries present on the stage were very impressed with Mallika, and praised her for keeping a positive attitude towards life and winning so many medals in various championships,” she added.

Renu Handa said when Mallika moved towards the stage, the audience kept clapping for her and didn’t stop till she came back from the stage. “It was only Mallika who received such a response from the audience and the way everyone cheered for her, I got emotional,” she said, adding that the only disappointment she has is that none from the government or administration has congratulated her yet for this big achievement.

“The other youngsters present there who received awards were showing tweets of the CMs of their respective states, and the congratulatory messages they received on the government’s official letterheads but my daughter had no such thing to show,” she said.

She added at times her daughter feels bad and says she wants to quit the game due to the government’s apathy, but they keep her spirit high and divert her mind from thinking such things. “I again appeal to the government to give a government job to her, so that she can continue with her passion of playing chess with a positive mind,” Renu Handa asserted.

Emotional moment

When Mallika moved towards the stage, the audience kept clapping for her and didn’t stop till she came back to her seat. It was only Mallika who received such a response. I got emotional. — Renu Handa, Mallika’s mother