The 44th Chess Olympiad kicked off with a grand opening ceremony at the JLN Indoor Stadium, Chennai on Thursday.
The ceremony was graced by Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin and superstar Rajnikanth. The actor arrived with his actress daughter Aishwarya.
Along with dance and musical performances, the ceremony saw sand paintings of the CM and the prime minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared the event open at grand inauguration programme.
But fans were taken by surprise as two anthems were played during the event.
First, the Jana Gana Mana was played as the dignitaries paid respect to the national flag and immediately after that, Tamil Thai Valthu—the state anthem of Tamil Nadu—was hummed.
Controversial start
The Olympiad was hit by controversy as Pakistan boycotted the event citing the torch relay of the event passing through Jammu and Kashmir, a move termed by India as "highly unfortunate".
Pakistan was invited by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) to participate in the even scheduled from July 28 to August 10.
Regrettably, India has chosen to politicise this prestigious international sporting event by passing the torch relay of this event through Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan's Foreign Office said in a statement.
Reacting to Pakistan's decision, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said it was surprising that Pakistan has suddenly taken the decision not to participate in the event.
It is highly unfortunate that Pakistan has politicised the prestigious international event by making such statements and withdrawing its participation after its team has already reached India, he said in New Delhi.
Bagchi asserted that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh "have been, are and will remain an integral part of India."
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