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  More than 16 Chess Grandmasters and an International Bridge Player participated in the tournament, hosted by Bharat Petroleum

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  Total 132 players participated in the tournament including 72 in Bridge and 60 in Chess

The oil public sector undertakings (PSUs) put up a grand show at 31st Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) Inter Unit Chess and 41st Inter Unit Bridge Tournament held in Mumbai from Mar 7 to 11, 2022. The Event, hosted by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL), saw participation from 132 players with 72 players participating in Bridge and 60 players participating in Chess tournament. The tournament had participation from 16 Grandmasters and an International Bridge Player.

PSPB Inter-unit Chess and Bridge Tournament hosted by BPCL

Shri Manoj Heda, Executive Director (Corporate Finance, BPCL) and Shri Syed Abbas Akhtar, Chief General Manager (Brand & PR), BPCL along with Shri Lalit Watts, Advisor, PSPB were the chief guests at the inauguration ceremony; while Shri Biju Gopinath, Head-New Businesses, BPCL and Mr. Gautam Vadhera, Joint Secretary, PSPB gave away the awards at the end of the event. BPCL, HPCL, Assam Oil Division (IOCL), Engineers India Ltd., IOCL, OIL, ONGC and Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) were oil organisations that participated in the tournament.

Under the ‘Individual’ category, Grand Master (GM) Abhijeet Gupta, BPCL was adjudged the winner; while Team ONGC which consisted of GM Sasikaran Krishnan, GM Koneru Humpy, GM Deep Sengupta, GM Sethuraman SP and GM Neelopal Dass Kongevel were declared as winner under ‘Team’ category. GM Koneru Humpy from ONGC was declared Player of the Chess Tournament.

The objective of PSPB is to encourage, develop, control, supervise, regulate, co-ordinate and organize various sports and games and to do all other acts, deeds, matters and things necessary for or incidental to or in the attainment of the objective of PSPB.

Oil PSUs, including BPCL, have a rich history of supporting budding sports talents in their journey marked by high ambition and the determination required to achieve it. BPCL have inducted about 250 sportspersons in various sporting disciplines in the last several decades, supporting and encouraging them, while acting as a springboard for their aspirations. Out of 60 BPCL sportspersons who are still active in their sports discipline, 8 represented India in Tokyo Olympics which include 5 players of Bronze winning Hockey winning team, two Archers and one para-badminton player who bagged Bronze medal in Tokyo Paralympics 2020.

About PSPB

Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) (erstwhile Petroleum Sports Control Board (PSCB)) was established in June, 1979 and registered through Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 (Punjab Amendment Act 1957 as extended to the Union Territory of Delhi). The Registered Office of PSPB is located in New Delhi. The objective of PSPB is to encourage, develop, control, supervise, regulate, co-ordinate and organize various sports and games and to do all other acts, deeds, matters and things necessary for or incidental to or in the attainment of the objective of PSPB.

About Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL)

Fortune Global 500 Company, Bharat Petroleum is the second largest Indian Oil Marketing Company and one of the premier integrated energy companies in India, engaged in refining of crude oil and marketing of petroleum products, with a significant presence in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry. The company attained the coveted Maharatna status, joining the elite club of companies having greater operational & financial autonomy.

Bharat Petroleum’s Refineries at Mumbai & Kochi and subsidiary Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd., at Bina, Madhya Pradesh have a combined refining capacity of around 35.3 MMTPA. Its marketing infrastructure includes a network of installations, depots, energy stations, aviation service stations and LPG distributors. Its distribution network comprises over 19,000 Energy Stations, over 6,100 LPG distributorships, 733 Lubes distributorships, 123 POL storage locations, 53 LPG Bottling Plants, 60 Aviation Service Stations, 3 Lube blending plants and 4 cross-country pipelines.

Bharat Petroleum is integrating its strategy, investments, environmental and social ambitions to move towards a sustainable planet. The company has chalked out the plan to offer electric vehicle charging stations at around 7000 energy stations over next 5 years.

With a focus on sustainable solutions, the company is developing a vibrant ecosystem and a road-map to become a Net Zero Energy Company by 2040, in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. Bharat Petroleum has been partnering communities by supporting innumerable initiatives connected primarily in the areas of education, water conservation, skill development, health, community development, capacity building and employee volunteering. With ‘Energising Lives’ as its core purpose, Bharat Petroleum’s vision is to be the most admired global energy company leveraging talent, innovation & technology.