Feel like I've made a mental shift: Pragg

The past few weeks have been a blur for Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. He turned into a teen star and a hashtag and was swept by the full tide of fame upon his arrival home, in Chennai a couple of weeks ago.

- Susan Ninan

This month, the 18-year-old has already played three tournaments World Rapid Team Championship, Tata Steel Rapid and Blitz and the Spanish League. His first Asian Games appearance, in the team competition starting September 29, will cap off what's been a busy stretch of weeks. The last time chess was part of the Continental Games was in 2010. Praggnanandhaa was five years old then.

"I have never watched a live sport in a stadium. So, I'm looking forward to catching at least a few matches of Indians in other sports," he says, dropping a wish, "If I get the chance, I'd want to meet Neeraj Chopra."

Apart from the individual men's and women's events (played in rapid format), medals in chess will also be contested in the men's and women's team events (in classical format with five players in each team). In addition to Praggnanandhaa, India has D Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi and P Harikrishna in the men's section. Arjun and Vidit feature in the men's individual event while Koneru Humpy and Dronavalli Harika play in the women's individual event. It's fair to say that medal expectations for India in all four events run high.

Through last month's history-crafting, Candidates' tournament qualification, and breaking into the 2700 club, Praggnanandhaa has been tapping into a quiet joy. The kind people in all sorts of professions spend their lives hunting.