The unavailability of World champion Viswanathan Anand and K. Humpy for the upcoming Asian Games has left the All India Chess Federation with no option but to field the same team that represented the country in the Olympiad last month.
While Anand cited prior commitments, Humpy replied to the AICF invitation through the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board by declining to be part of the two preparatory camps, including the second one beginning in Chennai on Friday, according to the AICF secretary D.V. Sundar.
India is expecting to win at least three medals at Guangzhou. Medals will be up for grabs in the team events for men and women apart from the two individual rapid events.
From the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Humpy returned with two gold medals, including one from the team event.
The team:
Men: K. Sasikiran, P. Hari Krishna, Surya Shekhar Ganguly, G.N. Gopal and B. Adhiban.
Women: D. Harika, Tania Sachdev, Eesha Karavade, S. Meenakshi and Nisha Mohota.
Coaches: Lev Psakhis and Oleg Romanishin; Manager: Bharat Singh Chauhan.
