April 5: India No 2 but Asia No 1. Might sound strange, but it is a feat accomplished by a little lad from Andhra Pradesh. Mekala Abhinav has not only done his State and country proud with his stunning performance in the Asian junior chess championships in Teheran a few days back, he has also accomplished a few stranger feats that would make the him the tallest in the rocky Nalgonda district.``Forget a champion, we don't have a player of international stature,'' said a district official who was here to receive the newest Asian under-10 chess champion. ``He is the only Asian champion from the Hyderabad region in any individual sport,'' added Shiva Prasad, president, Hyderabad Chess Association.Born to lower-middle class parents, Abhinav worked hard to find his bearings at the State and National level while his working parents, Venkateswara Rao and Aruna, left no bank account untouched to foot his travelling and other expenditures. ``Today, I'm virtually a broke. But no regrets. I'm the father of an Asian champion,'' said the proud father, who could not accompany his son to his first-ever overseas trip for obvious reasons.``It would have cost us a fortune. I went up to Delhi to see him off. He was crying at the airport longue. I told him to try his best and utilise the tournament to gain some useful experience. But he told me he would return with a medal. I was shocked at his confidence,'' said Venkateswara Rao.The boy, however, was sure he would do beyond expectations. ``I started well. Once I beat a Kazakh player in the fourth round, I knew I had a chance,'' Abhinav said recounting his progress in the tournament.He started with wins in the first three rounds. His first hurdle was in the fourth round in which he beat a fancied Kazakh player Azamkatzubai. In the next round, he ran into another Kazakh, Duskujanav. But it was surprisingly an easy round. From then on, there was no stopping the Class VI student.Abhinav went on to win his next two rounds scoring seven points at the end of the seventh round. He drew his eighth round to clinch the title in the penultimate round itself. And he rounded off the tournament with another draw in the final round.``Eight points from nine rounds is an incredible performance. Particularly from a player who has not seen a computer to date. He is a child prodigy. Investment on the boy would be very productive. He would be an International Master in three years,'' opined Shiv Prasad.Abhinav, however, cannot wait to become a Grandmaster. ``I want to be a Grandmaster and play like (Viswanathan) Anand,'' said the little boy who also wanted to settle scores with a few players.Abhinav qualified for the Asian Championship by virtue of becoming second in the under-10 Nationals at Aurangabad last December. He was beaten in the last round by his State-mate Sai Srinivas, who, eventually qualified for the World Youth Championships. But by virtue of becoming the Asian Champion, Abhinav can have go in the World meet, to be held in Spain, in September.But, warned Shiv Prasad, practising with neighbours, village elders and district players he may go upto Asian and World Youth championships but not further. ``He has to have the help of the sponsors and computers.''Is the computer-savvy chief minister listening?
