11 Yr Old Vizag Girl’s Exceptional Achievement

Alana Meenakshi Kolagatla, a child chess prodigy belonging to Visakhapatnam, has been nominated for Bal Puraskar award under Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2023. The 11-year-old girl was chosen for exceptional achievement in sports category by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.

The award carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a medal, a citation and other gift items. A student of Class VI in Timpany School in Vizag city, Meenakshi was titled Indian International Chess player from Vizag district. Recently, she was awarded the Women FIDE Master title by the FIDE.

According to FIDE ratings, Alana is World No. 1 chess player in the Under-12 girls category and she also is the only Indian girl constantly in the top three world FIDE rankings in her category for more than a year.

In 2018, Meenakshi began playing chess at a very tender age of seven years. She won gold in the Asian schools U-7 championship. She also won gold in the Indian nationals U-10 girls championship organised by the All India Chess Federation (AICF).

The President of India will give away the Bal Puraskar award in New Delhi on January 23. Meenakshi will take part in a full dress rehearsal on January 23 and in the Republic Day parade on January 26. On January 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with all the Bal Puraskar awardees.