The All India Chess Federation (AICF) has appointed Jamshedpur resident Neeraj Kumar Mishra as one of the coaches of the national outfit for the World Youth Chess Championship to be held in Montevideo, Uruguay, from September 16 to 26.

The Indian contingent, comprising 19 players and three coaches, left for Uruguay on Friday morning. The competition will be conducted in six categories - U-14, U-16 and U-18 girls' and U-14, U-16 and U-18 open.

Jamshedpur's Vatsal Singhania is also in the team and will participate in the U-16 open. He trained for the world meet under Grandmaster R.B. Ramesh in Chennai.

Mishra, a veteran International Master (IM) and FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs) trainer, is active in Jharkhand's chess circuit as a mentor and administrator for the last two decades.

A resident of Kadma, Mishra is the secretary of All Jharkhand Chess Association (AJCA) and also a mentor at Dibyendu Barua Chess Academy in Calcutta.

AJCA has expressed happiness over his appointment as a coach of the Indian outfit.

'Our best wishes to the team and the coaches,' said AJCA CEO Pritam Singh.

Handball trials

The two-day selection trials for the 34th Sub-junior Boys' Handball Championship kicked off at Ramdas Bhatta Community Centre grounds in Bistupur, Jamshedpur, on Friday.

The national meet is scheduled at Hissar, Haryana, from September 24 to 29.