New Delhi: Arjuna Award-winning Grandmaster (GM) Abhijit Gupta, who became the first Indian to win five Commonwealth Chess Championship titles, has sparked a heated conversation about the treatment of athletes in India after he took to X (formerly Twitter) and revealed that he was owed prize money for winning the Odisha Open GM26.In an exclusive interaction with TimesofIndia.com on Saturday, the GM expressed his dismay at the lack of accountability from both the tournament organizers and the All India Chess Federation (AICF).
The tournament, which featured several Grandmasters, concluded on 24 January 2026. Category ‘A’ had a total prize pool of Rs 25 lakh, with the winner receiving Rs 5.5 lakh. Initially, Gupta was told that his winnings would be transferred in a few weeks.“At that point, I was told by the administrator, ‘Your prize money will be transferred in a few weeks, so please don’t worry… we are very busy.’ I didn’t bother much as it is a common practice in India that they don’t give the prize money in cash,” Gupta, who bagged the title with a score of 8/10, told this website.However, weeks turned into months. After the follow-up in March, communication from the organizers went silent. “After a few months, they stopped responding completely,” he added.Gupta, who received the honor. Arjuna Award Back in 2013, the latter approached the AICF, noting that the tournament was officially affiliated with the national body.“I feel that AICF is also responsible… If it is under AICF, there has to be some accountability,” Gupta added.Despite sending several emails to the federation president and secretary since March, the GM has not received any response. For Gupta, 36, the issue is more than his personal finances, as he is deeply concerned about the precedent set for the next generation of Indian chess.“I’m already at a stage in my career where money doesn’t matter. But imagine what kind of precedent we’re setting if a 10-year-old wins his first prize and doesn’t get it? If that can happen to an Arjuna awardee, one can only imagine the struggle faced by players at the grassroots level,” he said.Gupta’s post on X called for the intervention of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, calling for transparency and protection of “dignity and confidence of every chess player in India”.Meanwhile, after the social media flare-up, AICF president Nitin Narang contacted GM Gupta, who wrote on X: “All India Chess Federation President @Narang Nitinji called me and assured me that necessary action has been initiated.”
Poll
Do you think social media is effective in solving athletes’ problems?
