India captain Srinath Narayanan on Tuesday threw his weight behind Nihal Sarin after the latter’s stunning collapse against Nodirbek Yakubboev at the Chess Olympiad the previous day, which in turn played a central role in the defending champions’ defeat to home favourites Uzbekistan. Srinath Narayanan said that the team’s unanimous choice for their “player of the day” was Sarin.

Nihal had a +2 advantage with 30 minutes still on the clock but just three moves later, it was Yakubboev on the ascendancy. “Super tough day against Uzbekistan. Indian Open team’s first loss in any team event since 2022,” said Srinath in a lengthy statement that he posted on X.

Super tough day against Uzbekistan. Indian Open team’s first loss in any team event since 2022.

Starting from the 2024 Olympiad, we’ve had a ritual of picking our Player of the Day. Yesterday, it was unanimous: Nihal.


The message was: Whilst results do matter, the effort and… pic.twitter.com/Jidky6d8Qr

— Srinath Narayanan (@srinathchess) September 22, 2026

“Starting from the 2024 Olympiad, we’ve had a ritual of picking our Player of the Day. Yesterday, it was unanimous: Nihal. The message was: Whilst results do matter, the effort and process matter more. Results don’t always convey the full story. It doesn’t show the attitude behind.

“Nihal played his heart and soul out. He could have played it safe, stayed solid, and likely, blameless. But he went for it from the word go, despite having Black. It was only because of his incredible fight that the team got into its best chance to beat Uzbekistan after 4 draws between the two powerhouse teams.”

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India looked set for a 2.5-1.5 win at one point but they slipped to a 1.5-2.5 defeat against the home side and the crowd favourites. With Uzbekistan already ahead on game points before the clash, the crushing loss left India’s title defence hanging by a thread.

Srinath said that this result was a stepping stone for “some great result in the future”. “Every great result, including our 2024 Olympiad win came on the back of years of preparation coupled with earlier struggles and setbacks. Our result yesterday was a similar stepping stone towards some great result in the future.

“The result didn’t go our way yesterday. But I am sure Nihal will win us many medals in both the near, and distant future,” he said.