Velammal throws a party to felicitate Gukesh

CHENNAI: Velammal threw a party and even had World Champion D Gukesh shake a leg onstage as it left no stone unturned and went all out to felicitate him at its campus on Friday, here in Chennai.

There was colour, fanfare and a lot of money as Velammal awarded a cash prize of Rs 1 crore to the 18-year-old.

Chants of ‘Gukesh..Gukesh’ filled the ground as Gukesh walked on to the stage with drones dropping confetti, fireworks lighting the evening sky and Tamil Nadu folk artists according the champion a royal welcome.

Global K-pop singer Aoora took the stage to set the tone for the evening. He even got Gukesh onstage with him to dance to the tune of Tamil song ‘Manasilaayo’.

As the evening sky gave way to a dark sky, drone show lit the night sky with the drones lighting the sky with patterns of Gukesh’s face and the national map.

Lasers and fireworks added more flair to the evening.

Gukesh was then asked to choose his favourite Indian Premier League (IPL) side and he replied Chennai Super Kings and MS Dhoni as his favourite player that drew loud cheers from the audience.

Gukesh also emphasised how special it was to receive the Khel Ratna award as a Chess player.

Students and teachers from the school then took to the stage to felicitate the champion as the event came to a close.