CHENNAI: 22-year-old newly-crowned Chess Grandmaster Tamil Nadu's Vaishali Rameshbabu on Tuesday was honoured with Arjuna Award 2023 in recognition of her outstanding achievements in Chess.
She received the award from President Droupadi Murmu at the awards ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Vaishali was honoured for becoming the third woman from the country after Koneru Humpy and Dronavalli Harika to turn Grandmaster.
The Arjuna Award, India's second-highest athletic honour, is given for good performance over a period of the previous four years and for showing qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, and a sense of discipline.
Overall, 17 athletes have received the Arjuna Awards for their performances in 2023, including tar speedster Shami, who ended as the leading wicket-taker in last year's ICC Cricket World Cup in India with 24 scalps and broke several records.
Earlier on January 5, R Vaishali won the Woman Player of the Year award by Chess.com for her amazing performances in 2023.