The nation had hoped for double delight on Wednesday. After Chandrayaan 3’s momentous soft landing in the unchartered south pole of the Moon, billions broke into euphoric celebrations. Sports enthusiasts were multi-tasking as they were watching the landing and also following chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa’s FIDE World Cup 2023 final against the legendary Magnus Carlsen.

However, they had to wait a day longer as Praggnanandhaa and Carlsen’s final in Baku headed into tie-breakers on Thursday after two drawn classical time control games.

As India continued to celebrate the incredible success of Isro’s moon mission, Praggnanandhaa had an opportunity to script history in the tie-breakers. After heading into the final having played more draining games than the 32-year-old Carlsen, the teenager from Chennai was undone in the tie-breaker. Pragg’s endgame was not up to the mark as Carlsen walked away with the World Cup for the first time in his career.

Praggnanandhaa may have finished second-best in the final but his exploits in Baku over the last few weeks have made the world sit up and take notice. The 18-year-old had been on a giant-killing spree beating the likes of World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura and World No. 3 Fabiano Caruano en route to becoming the youngest to reach a World Cup final.

It was the final part of the mission where Pragg stumbled. It was not an easy terrain as Pragg was up against the 5-time World Champion, who was desperately chasing the only missing piece in his decorated trophy cabinet.

Praggnanandhaa’s father played down the result and highlighted the importance of the young boy making it to the final at the biggest stage and having an opportunity to go head-to-head with Carlsen.

It was quite reminiscent of an Isro moment from 2019. The nation was awaiting the landing of Chandrayaan-2 on the Moon with bated breath. However, the mission suffered a technical glitch moments before lander Vikram’s scheduled landing on the Moon’s surface.

The hard yards were done. After years of hard work, India was just 2.1km away from creating history.

Much like the thousands who have extended their messages to Pragg, who put up a valiant fight in Baku on Thursday, Prime Minster Narendra Modi was at the Isro premises to lend a shoulder to former Isro chief K Sivan, who was struggling to overcome emotions.

“Don’t be disheartened,” he told the scientists at the Isro.

“The Nation is proud of you, be courageous. You have given your best and have always made India proud.”

THE HARD LANDING

4 years later, India celebrated a successful moon landing. As K Sivan, speaking to India Today on Thursday, said, the failure of Chandrayaan 2 was the stepping stone for the success that the entire world celebrated on August 23.

“In 2019, it went through nicely without any problems. At the last minute, there were some problems, and it encountered hard-landing. Whatever lessons we learned from Chandrayaan 2, we have incorporated them on that day itself. On the landing day, the corrective work started and we started working for Chandrayaan 3. Once the emotions came out, we began our work,” Sivan said.

Isro did not wait to begin work on their next mission. Knowing Pragg’s tenacity, the youngster would have already started dreaming about 2023. At least after he takes the much-needed rest after 8 draining rounds in Baku, Pragg would set his goals for the future.

“At such a young age, he has shown that he has what it takes to go all the way. He has all the qualities you need, tenacity, ability to keep playing under pressure. He has huge competitive skills as well. He is not only about knowledge, he competes at a very high level as well,” Viswanathan Anand said, speaking to India Today, raving about the young man’s fighting spirit.

Pragg has already sealed a spot at the next year’s Candidates by finishing in the top 3 at the World Cup. He is only the second Indian after Anand himself to do so. The 18-year-old has plenty of time left in his career to pick up what he couldn’t in Baku on Thursday.

“Keep chasing your dreams and making India proud,” Sachin Tendulkar, who achieved his childhood dream in 2011 after several setbacks, wrote on X.

Who better than the legendary cricketer to share the important piece of wisdom with Praggnanandhaa?