It was all quiet at Terminal 4 of the airport here even a good 10 minutes before the members of the Indian chess teams walked out. In a jiffy, there was a small crowd which included well-wishers and fans, all wanting a now-mandatory selfie with the players.

For a change, the spotlight wasn’t on R. Praggnanandhaa and R. Vaishali but on B. Savitha Shri, the new kid on the block, who dazzled with an unbeaten, gold-medal winning run (nine points from 10 games) as the women’s team clinched bronze.

The 19-year-old Chennai WGM, picked as the reserve board player in her Olympiad debut, proved her worth in gold as she kept notching up victories. notched up one victory after the other. Her heroics proved invaluable and a draw in the final round against Georgia helped the team climb the podium.

“The win against Elnaz Kaliakhmet was my best match,” she said of the performance against Kazakhstan. “If I hadn’t won, we would have lost that match.”

“It was an amazing performance. After I started with four wins, I thought I should carry on the good form and contribute to the team’s cause,” said Savitha Shri, who thanked her teammates for their support and showing faith in her.