Meet Padmini Rout, She is an Indian chess player. Born in Barambagarh, Odisha, Padmini started playing chess at the age of 9 (2003) because of her father Dr. Ashok Kumar Rout’s passion for the game. She did her schooling from D.A.V. Public School, Chandrasekharpur and graduated in Commerce from BJB College in Bhubaneswar.

She holds the titles of International Master and Woman Grandmaster. She is a four-time National Women’s Premier title holder consecutively from 2014-2017 and was the Asian women’s champion of 2018.

Rout was honoured with the Biju Patnaik Sports Award for the year 2007 and the Ekalavya Award in 2009.
In 2005 Rout won her first national title, under-11 girls at Nagpur. In 2006, she was both the Indian under-13 girls champion and the Asian under-12 girls champion. Rout won the U14 girls’ section of both Asian and World Youth Chess Championships in 2008. The following year she finished first in the Asian Junior (Under-20) Girls Championship.In 2010, she won the Indian junior (U19) girls championship and took the bronze medal at both Asian and World Junior Girls Championships.

Achievements

• Won her first National under-11 girls in 2005 at Nagpur and also won National under-13 girls in Kolkata.
  Individual Gold medal for reserve board in Women’s in Tromso Olympiad 2014
• Gold medal in Asian Continental Women 2018
• Four-times consecutive National Women’s Premier Champion (2014-2017)
• Gold in Blitz, Silver in both Rapid and Classical format in Asian Nations Cup 2014 for Team India
• Gold in Blitz, Silver in Rapid and Bronze in Classical format in Asian Nations Cup 2018 for Team India
• Gold in Asian under-12 girls and under-14 girls in 2006 and 2008 respectively.
• Gold in Asian Junior (under-20) girls in 2009 and Bronze in 2010.
• Gold in Commonwealth Women’s in 2015.
• Gold in World Youth under-14 in 2008.
• Bronze in World Junior 2010.
• Bronze in Asian Continental Women’s Blitz in 2017.
• Bronze in Asian Indoor Games in Rapid for Team India in 2017.
• Won National Junior girls in 2010.
• Biju Patnaik Sports Award for the year 2007.
• Winner of Eklavya Award in 2009.