VISAKHAPATNAM: Vizag city girl and Child chess prodigy Alana Meenakshi Kolagatla has been nominated for the Bal Puraskar award under Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar-2023 by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development for exceptional achievement in sports category.
The Puraskar carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a medal, a certificate and a citation and other gift items.
Women FIDE Master Alana Meenakshi Kolagatla was titled Indian international Chess player from Vizag district. The 11-year-old girl is a Class-VI student of Timpany School in Vizag city. The little girl was recently awarded the Women FIDE Master title by the FIDE (World chess federation).
As per FIDE ratings, currently Alana Meenakshi became the world number one in under-12 girl Chess, and she is the only Indian girl constantly in the top three world FIDE rankings in her respective categories for more than a year.
Alana started playing international chess in 2018 when she was seven. She won gold in the Asian schools U-7 championship. Earlier, she won gold in the Indian nationals U-10 girls championship conducted by the All India Chess Federation (AICF).
The Bal Puraskar award will be presented by the President of India on January 23 in New Delhi and the girl will participate in a full dress rehearsal and Republic Day Parade to be held on January 23 and January 26 respectively. The Prime Minister will interact with the awardees on January 24.
Parents of Alana Meenakshi expressed that they were very happy for the achievements of their daughter and expressed that she will bring more laurels to the country in the coming years. EOM
