Nodirbek Yakubboev Apologizes to Vaishali with Flowers and Chocolates for Handshake Incident
On January 27 (Monday), Uzbekistan's Grandmaster Nodirbek Yakubboev refused to shake hands with India's Vaishali before the match, after which he social media to explain the reason behind it and aplogised to her. Now a few days after this incident, Nodirbek personally met Vaishali, her brother Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and their mother Nagalakshmi and apologized to them. Not only this, Nodirbek Yakubboev also gave flowers and chocolates to Vaishali as he was widely criticized for this incident.
A clip was shared on social media in which Yakubboev can be seen apologising to Vaishali. During that time, Vaishali and her brother Praggnanandhaa are seen repeatedly telling him that everything is fine and they did not feel bad at all. But Yakubboev was still apologizing.
"I'm sorry for what happened. It was a strange situation for both of us. I was in a hurry that day. This is a misunderstanding, I'm sorry. I want to wish you and your brother all the best. I respect you and your brother and all Indian chess players. Thank you for understanding, goodbye and good luck, "Yakubboev said apologetically.
During this time, he was interrupted several times by Vaishali and Pragg to tell him that it was not a big deal.
"It clearly makes sense. I didn't take it that way. So you don't have to feel bad. It's all right," said Vaishali.
Vaishali also told Yakubboev that she had apologized to him that day as well. Apart from this, She also advised Yakubboev to concentrate on the remaining games.
A clip of the incident during the fourth round of the Tata Steel chess tournament went viral on social media in which the Uzbek grandmaster was seen refusing to shake hands with India's Vaishali. Later Yakubboev gave a big explanation and said that he does not touch other women because of religious reasons.