Chennai, Jun 3: India No.3 Vidit Gujrathi has qualified for the FIDE chess World Cup 2021, to be held in Sochi, Russia from July 10 on the basis of his rating.

With this, Grandmaster Gujrathi becomes the fourth Indian man to qualify for the upcoming World Cup, a press release said on Thursday.

The Nashik-based player joins Grandmasters P Harikrishna, Aravindh Chidambaram and P Iniyan as the Indian men to have qualified for the World Cup.

Meanwhile, Koneru Humpy, D Harika, Bhakti Kulkarni, R Vaishali and Padmini Rout have qualified for the women's event at the World Cup.

This will be Gujrathi's third World Cup appearance, having previously featured in 2017 and 2019. The Indian said he is confident of putting up a nice show in the tournament.

"Really happy to be a part of the WC squad. Playing for India is always a proud moment and especially the World Cup which is the most prestigious event across any sport," Gujrathi was quoted as saying.

"I am confident of putting up a nice show and will surely try to give my best in each and every game I play. Eagerly looking forward to the event as this is going to be my first Over the Board (OTB) event since February 2020," he added.

He is presently ranked 23rd in the World.

The FIDE World Cup 2021 will be a Classical event with standard time control.

Iniyan had recently won the AICF online qualifying event to book a berth in the World Cup.

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Mandya (PTI): A driver was arrested for allegedly transporting beef and other cattle parts illegally in a goods vehicle in this district, police said on Monday.

The vehicle was intercepted and seized during a late-night operation near Paschimavahini in Srirangapatna taluk on Sunday, they said.

According to police, the vehicle, which was reportedly travelling from Hunsur to Ramanagara, was first stopped by members of a local Hindu organisation, who then alerted the police. The Srirangapatna Town Police reached the spot and took the vehicle into custody.

During inspection, police found beef and legs of cattle inside the goods carrier. The driver was detained on the spot, a senior police officer said.

Samples of the seized meat have been sent for forensic examination, he added.

A case under the relevant sections of the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act has been registered at the Srirangapatna Town Police Station, and an investigation is underway to trace the source and destination of the consignment, they said.