Jammu, Apr 13: In the present era, the budding sportspersons of Jammu and Kashmir leave no stone unturned to carve a space on the country’s sports map, thus keeping their Stat’s/UT’s flag high at the National and International scene.
Though, from the last few years, J&K athletes prove their mettle in almost all the games, yet the players of a few games including Gymnastics, Wushu, Fencing, Judo and Chess make the entire sports community proud by winning medals at the International level.
There are people who work day-in and day-out for the success of these players and serve as the beacon-lights to guide and goad them in excelling at the National level.
Atul Kumar Gupta is one of these doyens of sports fraternity who burns midnight oil in shaping the careers of the Chess players in Jammu and Kashmir, promoting this game in every nook and corner of the Union Territory and guiding the talented players to flourish at the highest level.
The Working President of All Jammu and Kashmir Chess Association (AJKCA) and former 3-time Joint Secretary of All India Chess Federation (AICF), Mr Atul has the distinction of organizing a record number of 132 Chess events in Jammu and Kashmir, including the historical South Asian Amateur Championship and over 15 National and All India level events.
He has been instrumental in providing basic Chess training to more than 10,000 players in J&K including the tough terrains of Tangdhar, Kishtwar etc.
Under Atul Gupta’s guidance and support, besides the provision of the proper platform, J&K produced International champions like Meenal Gupta, Soham Kamotra and Arushi Kotwal, apart from the emerging players like Pazhany Kohli, Hamza Malik and likes.
Atul has the honour of serving as the Chief Protocol Officer in 44th Chess Olympiad at Chennai in 2022, involving 185 countries across the globe, besides accompanying the Indian team as Coach cum Manager—two times to Moscow and once to Bulgaria.
He has also the honour of being the former State Chess Champion.
Atul has been instrumental in helping his trainees to get employment opportunities and earn handsome salaries.
