 enhances and exhilarates each and every one of us. Today is a day that we will remember forever and ever because this is a milestone and a moment that we will cherish. We'd also like to welcome the Honorable Governor of Tamil Nadu, Tirur Arun Ravi, Honorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Tirur MK Stalin, Union Minister for Information Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports, Tirur Anurag Singh Thakuravarga, Honorable Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Daily Information and Broadcast, Tirur L. Muruganavarga, Honorable Minister for Climate Change and Youth Welfare and Sports Development Government of Tamil Nadu, Tirushivavi Meyadhanavarga, the President of the International Chess Federation, Mr. R.K.D. Vorkovich. We now request all of you to rise for the performances of the National Anthem of India followed by the invocation to the Motherland, Mother Tamil, presented by James Vasanton's Hundred Peace Choir, requesting everyone to kindly stay arisen for the National as well as the State Anthem. Moving ahead, ladies and gentlemen, it is time for me to welcome the Honorable Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Government of Tamil Nadu, Tirushivavi Meyadhanavarga to render the welcome at rest. Ladies and gentlemen, and of the day, what do you need? I take immense pride in welcoming you all to India and to Tamil Nadu for the inauguration of the 44th Fide Jazz Olympia 2022. Chennai, I believe known as the Capital of Chess in India, is also to host one of the biggest international sporting events from 28 July to 10 August 2022. The Government of Tamil Nadu and All India Jazz Federation have stood shoulder to shoulder and have here successfully raced against time to make the 44th Jazz Olympia an unprecedented sporting experience for the players and spectators alike. We express our sincere thanks to the Government of India for extending all cooperation in this endeavour. We timid an absolute honour that our Honorable Prime Minister Tiru Narendra Modi is with us today to inaugurate the event. This Olympia would not have been possible at the scale without the continued support and consistent encouragement shown by the Union Government led by the Honorable Prime Minister. We welcome the Honorable Prime Minister to this prestigious event. It's my pleasure to welcome Honorable Governor of Tamil Nadu Tiru Narendra Modi. Dreams come true, but for that it is essential to conceive an idea in the first place, our Honorable Chief Minister, as mad as possible. Being a sports person, himself, he meticulously plant each and every step of this esteemed international tournament marked by the class and gata. It's my privilege to welcome Honorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Tiru Muthuvel Karunanthi Starley. I would like to express my hearty welcome to Honorable Union Minister for information and broadcasting and youth affairs and sports, Tiru Anurag Singh Thakur. We are careful for the unwavering cooperation and guidance of the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. My special welcome to Honorable Union Minister of State, Tiru El Murugan. It's my privilege to welcome RKD Tavakoch President of Pidey and all other dignitaries on and off of the Thais. Ladies and gentlemen, we are extremely honoured to have you here as our guest today. Sports, Transitions, National, Ethnic, Racial and Linguistic boundaries, apart from being a glorious first human excellence. After enduring one of the greatest health crisis in human history in the form of COVID pandemic, here we are here. As one big family, we are as mark the global solidarity. With spirit, we are extremely delighted. You have earned 2,000 participants and thousands of spectators from all over the world. People of Tamil Nadu, welcome you all with great love and affection. One second. On behalf of the Government of India, the Government of Tamil Nadu and the All India Just Federation, I extend very warm welcome to all of you. We sincerely hope that your experience in Chennai will be cherished forever. In the Magathana Nigalvi Kanchi, Udakamulam Kandu Mahilam, Udakamulam Kodikanakala Tamil Nadu, I greet you all with my greetings. Thank you. Thank you. Moving forward, ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to invite the Honorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru M.K. Stalin Avargar, to felicitate the Honorable Prime Minister. Once again, beautiful moment unveils itself in front of our eyes, ladies and gentlemen. The Honorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu felicitates the Honorable Prime Minister of India. Thank you so much for being here once again. Next up, ladies and gentlemen, you may be aware that we are home to the oldest living language still in use. In addition, this is also amongst the oldest continuing civilizations in the entire world. Our next event depicts the genesis, the evolution of one of the oldest civilizations. This act, the stunning act, has been choreographed by Shyamad Dabbar and performed by his dance company. And the person who has lent his voice to this act is none other than our very own Ulagan Ayagan Kamal Hassanavargai. In the temple of Kamal Sir, Tamil Muri, Tamil Kalacharam, Tamil Nadia Pirumayai. Can we see it? In the 6th century, an excerpt from the Pura Pura Vrindvamalai, a treatise from the 6th century, describes me as the one that existed before agriculture. I have seen kingdoms come and go. I have seen battles of wit and more. Amidst each of you, I'm here to tell a story, the greatest of them all. The Thammer Soils story. My Thammerman. Welcome, I'm everywhere. I was there when the first block of wood was carved. The first king was crowned. The first ship set to sea. But I'm there when all the glory now lies beneath the sand. The value of what we unearth a broken pot, a dirtied calling, a wooden tie, or a rusted iron tune from 4,000 years ago is as priceless and timeless as the history it comes from, the Thammer land that it comes from. 100,000 years of age years ago, we melting and wielding its power at 2,500 degrees Celsius. In the time of the leaping tiger, century Chola created an ocean in the 10th century. He was the first to introduce the concept of an admiral. He's a salute to that man and his marvels. Those are people as able thinkers. Disciple Bharathidasan carried the legacy, bringing reform to society. Put us on the map with our soaring G.D. by Tsunamis, the Floods. There is no better way to describe what we've seen in front of us other than that. One very strong, very powerful line. A big round of applause, ladies and gentlemen, to director Vignesh Sivan who has conceptualized this piece and he's taken us into this wondrous journey that depicts Thammer Man in all its glory. The music was composed by Navneeth, kudos to the entire team. Moving forward, ladies and gentlemen, we have a very exciting performance coming your way. Enjoy Enjami, a Thammer song sung by very, very popular singers Di and Arivu, composed by Santosh Narayan. Celebrates how our ancestors coexisted with nature. The chorus, enjoy Enjami, vango vango urnagi, literally translates to enjoy and come together as one, a befitting tribute to the Chess Olympiad. Ladies and gentlemen, proudly presenting, enjoy Enjami. Enjoy Enjami. We believe that you have enjoyed it a lot. Singas Di, Matramariamal. Both of you have a powerful voice. Along with the team, of course. Ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to invite the honorable Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dehring, Information and Broadcasting, Thiru L. Murugan, to deliver his address. Ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to invite the honorable Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dehring, Information and Broadcasting, Thiru L. Murugan, to deliver his address. Ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to invite the honorable Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dehring, Information and Broadcasting, to deliver his address. Ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to invite the honorable Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dehring, Information and Broadcasting, Thiru L. Murugan, to deliver his address. Ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to invite the honorable Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dehring, Information and Broadcasting, to deliver his address. Ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to invite the honorable Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dehring, Information and Broadcasting, to deliver his address. Ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to invite the honorable Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dehring, Information and Broadcasting, to deliver his address. Ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to invite the honorable Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dehring, to deliver his address. Ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to invite the honorable Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dehring, Information and Broadcasting, to deliver his address. Ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to invite the honorable Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dehring, Information and Broadcasting, to deliver his address. Ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to invite the honorable Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dehring, to deliver his address. Ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to invite the honorable Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dehring, to deliver his address. Ladies and gentlemen, we'd now like to invite the honorable Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dehring, to deliver his address. In the world and in Tamil Nadu, for the first time in India, for this chess game to take place, the main reason for our success is that many of our players, our first Tamil Nadu player, and our beloved Salina, today, with such a big program, such a big program, today, we will show the world our country, in our Chennai, in our chess game to take place, we will be able to with such a big program, we will be able to share our dreams as well as share them with the Tamil Nadu players from Tamil Nadu, we will be able to share our dreams with the players, we will be able to share our dreams with the players, we will be able to share our dreams as well as share our dreams today, The next item on the agenda, ladies and gentlemen, is to invite President Fide, Mr. RKD Jokovic, to address the gathering. A big round of applause. Let's welcome him to the podium. Your Excellencies, Mr. Prime Minister, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu State, Honourable Ministers, Players, Arbiters, my fellow Council and Management Members, Delegates from all around the world, People of Chennai, People of Tamil Nadu, All Chess Friends. First of all, let me thank, on behalf of all of you, those people who delivered this great performance today. We really enjoyed it. Didn't we? Yes, we did. I think it was really great. It showed the tradition, the culture of both Tamil Nadu State and the whole India. A country that brought us back to real chess, brought us back to the Olympiad, the biggest chess event in the world, a real festival of chess. And we are really thankful, we are grateful to the Government of India, to the Government of Tamil Nadu for taking both the risk, but honour as well, to organise and host this Olympiad in such a short period of time. And you delivered. You delivered. We feel it every second, every minute, every hour. We feel that people really contribute, really put all their efforts into making all of us happy, to show the best possible chess, to make people enjoy it, to make people happy. It's really overwhelming. And we are all touched by how people are trying to pass their love to chess, pass their love to all the players, all the team, all the countries, to each of us. And we are really thankful for that. We have the great role models here. Anand Vishwanathan, Khampe Canaro, Harika Dronavalli, great people to follow. Of course the world champion Magnus Carlsen is here. So these role models will lead us to the future and we should follow. And I do believe that this Olympiad will not just be a single event, it will change chess in India. It will make it ten times bigger, I really believe, into that. Starting from schools and spreading all around and it will change the chess world as well. We are united. We are one family and it's going to be like this forever. Thanks a lot. Have a great Olympiad, 44th FIDE chess Olympiad here in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. And thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time to welcome to the podium the Honorable Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports, Thiru Anurag Singh Thakur. Please join us on the podium, sir, with a big round of applause from all of you, please. Honorable Prime Minister of India, respected Thiru Narendra Modiji, Honorable Governor of Tamil Nadu, respected R. N. Raviji, Honorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, respected M. K. Stalingi, Union Minister of State for Information Broadcasting, Government of India, Dr. L. Muruganji, President Fide and my very dear friend, Mr. Kaudir Dwar Kovidji, Minister of Environment, Climate Change, Youth Welfare and Sports, Mr. Siva Mainathanji, Chess Players from all across the world, chess lovers, friends from media, ladies and gentlemen, want to come, Namaste, a very good evening to all of you. We are gathered here today for an incredibly momentous and historic occasion. India is the land where the game of chess originated and as the country's sports minister there is a feeling of pride in me to see India hosting this prestigious event for the first time in the history. Just over a month ago, we celebrated the first ever torch relay of the chess Olympiad in Delhi and today here we all set for the tournament to begin. Forty days ago, the torch was handed over to the Honorable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modiji, who then handed it over to our chess legend, Vishwanathan Anandji. Today, yet again, we welcomed our beloved dynamic prime minister, who has time and again shown his unwavering sport for sports and sports persons. I am pleased to share that the first ever chess Olympiad torch relay travelled through 75 iconic locations, celebrating the occasion of Azad-e-Kamrit Mahotsav, India's 75th year of independence. The torch covered 27,277 kilometres across the nation and we witnessed enthusiastic support and gardening momentum of millions of fans across the country. Some of the iconic locations included Red Fort in Delhi, Amar Mahal in Jammu and Kashmir, Statue of Unity in Kavadia, Gujarat and the Atari Border in Amritsar, Punjab, Harkipodi in Haridwar-Uttarakhand, Taj Mahal in Agra-Uttar Pradesh and the historic Gandhi Ashram in Dandi, Gujarat, Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, before finally reaching the 75th location, Mahabalipuram, the iconic venue of the tournament. India is well and truly delighted to be hosting the 44th Chess Olympiad in India. So I also like to take this opportunity to say Atithi Devo Bhava or as we could say here Virunathi Nare Kadawal. India welcomes all the teams from across the world, Honourable Prime Minister Modi, your continued support and passion inspires all of us to work towards the betterment of sport and make India a global sporting nation. Science in India is growing and getting stronger every single day. We have identified a grassroots to games talent identification format that nurtures talent from the university to the national and ensures a play field to podium finish. In the last few months, we have organised the hugely successful Kelo India Games, Kelo India Youth Games and the Kelo India University Games where more than 15,000 players and officials participated. Young athletes across the nation get access to the state of the art infrastructure and they are identified young and there is clear pathway. From being the Kelo India athlete to being part of the TOPS development program to being a part of the TOPS core group to being part of the Olympic podium and making the nation proud. Across sports and across regions, India is building a robust sports infrastructure, ecosystem and culture. Currently under the Kelo India scheme, more than 300 infrastructure projects worth rupees 2700 crores are under construction. I would also like to take this opportunity to wish all our participants the highest ever contingent in chess olympiad all the very best. I also acknowledge and thank the honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Mr. M. K. Stalin and his entire team, Government of India officials, Sports Authority of India and all India chess federation for their untiring efforts to make this event a grand success and I am sure they are going to make it comfortable for all the participants and the chess players who have come from various parts of the world. This is also the centenary year of Shri Satyajit Ray, a legendary Indian filmmaker who made a historic film called Shatranj K. Khiladi which depicts the game of chess in a creative visual way. One of the key lessons that chess teaches us and this lesson can be adopted by both by other sports persons and people in life is this. Sometimes in order to move two steps forward, you must take two steps back, waiting patiently evaluating your situation and knowing the right moment to play your move is the key to success on the chess board and in life as a whole. Chess is a game that tests your ability to plan ahead and outweights your opponent through tactical moves and engaging them with your line of defence. The game is already won or lost is in your head. Every move is an opportunity to outmaneuver your opponent and eventually emerge as grandmaster on the world stage. I firmly believe that the hosting of chess Olympiad in India will act as a catalyst to the interest even more to make interest in the game of chess even more among the youngsters both as a hobby and professionally. I won't take more time with these words. I wish you have a very pleasant stay in India and get a chance to explore the rich cultural heritage of our great diverse nation. It wasn't easy to host this event in less than three months span. Nobody in the world could do it but India has done it. Thank you once again. Jai Hind and Jai Bharat. Thank you very much sir. Thank you very much sir. Ladies and gentlemen, light symbolizes hope. We have the lighting of the cauldron. The torch which was launched by the honourable Prime Minister has now arrived in Singara Chennai after traversing 75 cities commemorating 75 glorious years of Indian independence. Our journey, it has been ladies and gentlemen, this is a certainly a special moment in this evening's proceedings. This torch will be handed over to the honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru N.K. Stalin by India's chess grandmaster and five times world champion, the one and only Mr. Vishwanath Anand. He has put India on the global map time and again in the world of chess and today we stand with pride as we welcome him on to the dials ladies and gentlemen. Ladies and gentlemen, a beautiful moment that will be etched forever in history. So grandmasters Prajnananda, Lukesh and Vijay Lakshmi who will receive the torch and light up the cauldron of the 44th Fideh International Chess Olympia. Stars that the world will certainly witness from our very own and the honourable of the 44th Fideh International Chess Olympia 2022 right here in Singara Chennai. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next up we'd like to welcome to the podium the man of the moment, the architect of the International Chess Olympia, a leader whose foresight, whose unstinted, unparalleled leadership has paved the way to creating history. Today we the people of Tamil Nadu stand tall and proud to be the first ever Indian state to host such a prestigious event. This could not have been possible without the efforts, the guidance and the leadership of our honourable chief minister. So ladies and gentlemen. Arangam Nirenda, kaitattal gadan. Tamil Nadu. Maanbamigu Muthalamichar, Thirumukha Stalin. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Today is a day of great pride for India. International Chess Olympia has never happened in India before. Hosting the Chess Olympiad for the first time in India is a big honour for us. We are further delighted that Tamil Nadu has got its honour. Our honourable Prime Minister himself has come to inaugurate this historic event. For he knows this is a proud moment for India. I welcome him both as the chief minister as Tamil Nadu and in my personal capacity. Honourable Prime Minister, we all know you are very fond of chess. During your tenure as the chief minister of Gujarat, you are conducted a grand chess festival with more than 20,000 players. When the Bhutan royal family visited India, you are presented a chess set to the Prince of Bhutan. It is very apt that such a supporter of chess came as come today. To inaugurate the 44th Chess Olympiad, I had a plan to inaugurate the 44th Chess Olympiad in Delhi with my uncle Pradham. But due to the corona outbreak, I was not able to do it in person. To inaugurate the 44th Chess Olympiad, Prime Minister Pradham has come to inaugurate the 44th Chess Olympiad. Prime Minister Pradham told me that he had a plan to inaugurate the 44th Chess Olympiad. He also told me that he would definitely start the 44th Chess Olympiad. Prime Minister Pradham had a plan to inaugurate the 44th Chess Olympiad in India. Prime Minister Pradham had a plan to inaugurate the 44th Chess Olympiad in India. Your presence has enhanced the magnitude of this function. And I thank you for making it. I convey my heartfelt thanks to Honourable Union's Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and other officials for providing all help and support to conduct this event in Tamil Nadu. The 44th Chess Olympiad was held in Russia only in the beginning. Due to the corona outbreak, I was unable to conduct this event in Russia. I knew that there would be no other country to conduct this event. If there was an opportunity to conduct this event in India, I gave up my position as Prime Minister to conduct this event in Tamil Nadu. In the beginning of this year, we were given the opportunity to conduct this event. On the 16th of March, I went to Murayana to conduct this event. To conduct this event, I organized the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. To conduct the 18th Chess Olympiad, I went to Murayana to conduct the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. But, as I said before, the 18th Chess Olympiad was held in Tamil Nadu. To conduct this event, I organized the 18th Chess Olympiad in Murayana to conduct the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. To conduct this event, I organized the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. To conduct the 14th Chess Olympiad, I organized the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. To conduct this event, I organized the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. To conduct the 18th Chess Olympiad, I organized the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. To conduct this event, I organized the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. To conduct the 18th Chess Olympiad, I organized the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. To conduct the 18th Chess Olympiad, I organized the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. To conduct the 18th Chess Olympiad, I organized the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. To conduct the 18th Chess Olympiad, I organized the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. To conduct the 18th Chess Olympiad, I organized the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. To conduct the 18th Chess Olympiad, I organized the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. To conduct the 18th Chess Olympiad, I organized the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. To conduct the 18th Chess Olympiad, I organized the 18th Chess Olympiad in Tamil Nadu. Soviyath Nadeya, the founder of the Soviet Union, is the founder of the Soviet Union. He is the founder of the Tamil Nadu Church Association. You don't need to talk much about the world's grandmaster, Vishwanandar. In 1988, he was the founder of the world's grandmaster, Anand. Until today, he has been a great leader of the world. In 2001, he was the founder of the world's grandmaster, Vijay Lachvi Subbaraman. In 2018, he was the founder of the world's grandmaster, Anand. Out of 73 grandmasters in India, 26 are from Tamil Nadu. It means 36% of Indian grandmasters are from Tamil Nadu. This is a game of intelligence and strategy. And I am proud that Tamil Nadu excels in this game. Chennai can be rightly called the chess capital of India. The government of Tamil Nadu immediately allotted 102 crores to host this chess olympic event. Also, we are more than happy to bear all the expenses of our Indian players. We also designed the musket as a night dress in the traditional Tamil attire, saying Vanakkam. We name him Thambi. The term Thambi is a symbol of brotherhood. To indicate that we are all one fraternity. The iconic mass leader of Tamil Nadu, Paira Ringer Anna, used to fondly call everyone as Thambi. The musket's name is an honour of such an ending thumb. Thambi was born in Tamil Nadu and was born in a world-class ISI world. He was born in the time of his birth. My younger brother, Thiruya Raghumana, gave ISI to him. When the chess olympic event was held, it was not just a game. It was not just a game. Like the world-class Indian players, a brotherhood is being played with pride. I thank the Indian players for their hard work and their hard work. I would like to express my gratitude to them. I would like to ask them to continue to give ISI to the Tamil Nadu. One government, one government. 20 amachars, 20 crores, 20 crores, 8 tribes. I am the leader of the Kachiyalipadu. I am not a big fan of chess. I am a person who has lived in Tamil Nadu for thousands of years. I would like to express my gratitude to them. I was found by many people in the country. I was found by two different tribes. I was found by the Tamil Nadu. In front of me, a young man is wearing a t-shirt with a green t-shirt on. I had a t-shirt on with a green t-shirt on. I was found with a green t-shirt on. I was found with a green t-shirt on. Anay Kuppu Aduvarai Polavai, Nala Aayara Divyaprapandha, says, There are tens of thousands of people in that area. There is a play for Satharangam and Tamil Nadu. There is a play for Aayarivakurma and Vyugamam. It is a world-wide play for Aayarivakurma. It is a play for Aayarivakurma. I have no doubt that this play will be a great help to the people of Tamil Nadu who are on the top of India in Tamil Nadu. We need to remove the play with the help of the Kalviya community. I would also like to hear about the play of Satharangam and the play of Aayarivakurma. I believe that this play will be a great help to them. Thank you very much for coming to this play. I welcome each and every player from around the world to Tamil Nadu. Thank you all for coming. It is indeed an honour for Tamil Nadu and Indian to host to you all. I once again thank you, honourable Prime Minister. And with these few words, I conclude my speech. Nandri, vanakkam. Moving on ladies and gentlemen, as is customary in chess championship tradition, we'd now like to invite on stage Mr. Laurent Freud, Chief Arbiter to join us on stage to take us through the process of draw of colours. Prime Minister for opening the ceremony. In a moment, we will draw colours to decide whether the first board of the highest CD team will play with the white colours or the black pieces. This is a critical moment for the Olympiad as it will allow us to make the pairings that the whole world is awaiting. We are starting with the women's section where the highest CD team is. India, I am delighted now to invite the honourable Prime Minister to draw colours. Indian team will play with the black pieces tomorrow. Thank you. And now we are proceeding with the same protocol but for the open tournament. The colours are drawn for the highest CD in the open tournament, the United States of America. So USA will play with the black pieces as well on that top board. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Laurent Freud. Thank you very much. And last but certainly not the least, it is time to welcome to the podium a visionary, power excellence, a leader who leads by example, an inspiration, a thought provoking champion. He is also a sports lover who displays undying passion and works tirelessly towards the betterment and the development of sport in the country. Ladies and gentlemen, today we have the utmost honour and privilege to welcome to the podium on this momentous occasion. The honourable Prime Minister of India, Tirunarendra Modi Avargayu. Greetings to you, beloved Prime Minister. Mr. R. N. Ravi, Chief Minister, Prime Minister, Prime Minister of India, Ministers and dignitaries, President, Arkady Dvorkovich, all the chase players and teams participating in this tournament. Chased lovers from all over the world, ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all to the 44th Chase Olympiad being held in India. The most prestigious tournament in Chase has come to India, the home of Chase. This tournament is here at a special time in India's history. This is the year we are marking 75 years of freedom from colonial rule. It is our Azadika Amrit Mahotsav. It is an honor to have you here at such an important time for our country. Friends, I would like to applaud the organizers of this tournament. In a very short period of time, they have made outstanding arrangements. We in India believe in Atithi Devabhava, which means our guest is like a god. Thousands of years ago, Saint Thiruvalluvar said, it means the whole purpose of earning a living and having a home is to be hospitable. We will make every effort to make you feel comfortable. We will help you bring your best game to the board. Friends, the 44th Chase Olympiad has been a tournament of many firsts and records. This is the first time the Chase Olympiad is being held in the place of origin of Chase of India. It is coming to Asia for the first time in three decades. It has the highest ever number of countries participating. It has the highest ever number of teams participating. It has the highest number of entries in the women's section. The first ever torch relay of the Chase Olympiad started this time. This Chase Olympiad will be a memory forever. Friends, since it is 75 years of our freedom, the torch relay for the Chase Olympiad, iconic location, travels 7 to 75. Its over 27,000 km journey has united the minds of youngsters and motivated them to take up Chase. It is also a matter of pride that the torch relay for the Chase Olympiad will always start from India. On behalf of every Indian, I extend my thanks to Fide for this gesture. Friends, Chase Olympiad is happening, is most fitting. There are many temples in Tamil Nadu with the beautiful sculptures that represent different sports. Sports has always been considered divine in our culture. In fact, in Tamil Nadu, you will find the temple of Chaturang Bhallavanathar. This temple as Thirupunur has an interesting story related to Chase. Even God played a game of Chase with the princess. Naturally, Tamil Nadu has a strong historical connection with Chase. This is why it is a Chase powerhouse for India. It has produced many of India's Chase grandmasters. It is home to the finest minds, vibrant culture and the oldest language in the world, Tamil. I hope you get the opportunity to discover Chennai, Mahabalipuram and nearby areas. Friends, sports is beautiful because it has inherent power to unite. Sports brings people and societies closer. Sports nurtures a spirit of timber. Two years ago, the world began to fight the biggest pandemic seen in the century. For a long time, life came to stand till. In such times, it was various sports tournaments which brought the world together. Tournament gave the important message, we are stronger when together. We are better when together. I am seeing the same spirit here. The post-COVID period has made us realize the importance of fitness and wellness both physical and mental. That is why it is important to encourage sporting talent and invest in sporting infrastructure. Friends, I am glad to share that there has never been a better time for sports in India than the present. India had its best ever performances in the Olympics, Paralympics and Deaf Olympics. We achieved glory even sports where we had not won earlier. Today, sports is seen as a great profession of choice. India's sporting culture is becoming stronger due to the perfect mix of two important factors. Energy of youths enabling environment. Our talented youngsters, especially from small towns and villages, are bringing glory. It is heartening to see women at the lead of India's sports revolution. The administrative framework, incentive structures and infrastructures have been revolutionized. Friends, today is a good day for international sports. We have the 44th Chase Olympiad starting here in India. In the UK, the 22nd Commonwealth Games will begin today. Thousands of athletes from many parts of the world are keen to make their nation proud. I wish them all the best. Friends, in sports, there are no losers or winners and there are future winners. All the teams and players gathered here, the very best for the 44th Chase Olympiad. I hope you from great memories of India treasure them in the times to come. India will always welcome you with open arms. All the best. Now, I declare the 44th Chase Olympiad open. Today, the games begin. Ladies and gentlemen, there you have it, the leader of our nation, the honourable Prime Minister of India. Thank you so much for being here, for gracing this occasion, for making it all the more memorable and special for us. We look to be part breakers in this nation under your guidance and under your leadership. Thank you and continue to do the great work that you're doing, sir. Thank you very, very much. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited us to the 44th Chase Olympiad season in Malappuram. He is the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He has invited us to the 44th Chase Olympiad This is the first time Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to the 44th Chase Olympiad.