Goa's Chief Minister announces Rs. 2 lakh for Bhakti!

Commonwealth Under 18 Girls Champion
Bhakti Kulkarni's consistent efforts in the
field of international chess were rewarded
when Goa's Chief Minister Digamber Kamat
announced a special grant of Rs. 2 lakh for her
at his residence in Margao recently. Mr. Kamat, who is
a keen sportsman himself and has consistently supported
the cause of Goan chess, decided without any hesitation whatsoever
when he was approached by Bhakti's father Pradip Kulkarni
for financial assistance.

Bhakti, who is Goa's only titled player and is a 10th standard
student of Mahila Nutan English High School (Margao), has long
been considered as one of the leading sportspersons
in Goa. The Woman FIDE Master has been successful
in winning 4 International Medals and had recently
won the Silver medal in the Asian Youth Girls Under 16
Championships which concluded in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
She is coached by India's only Dronacharya awardee in the field
of chess Raghunandan Gokhale who praised the
generous grant of the Goan Chief Minister and added that many
more 'laurels' awaited Bhakti and Goa in the arena of chess!

Mr. Kamat lauded the efforts of Bhakti and said that
the State would support her efforts financially allowing her to
totally focus on the game. Later on the floor of the Goa Assembly,
he also made a mention of the efforts of AICF Vice President and
GSCA President Sameer A. Salgaocar, who had contributed
towards the new found success of the Goan players in the
international level in a large way.