By IANS
New Delhi : World No.1 chess player Vishwanathan Anand Saturday presented certificates to the outgoing batch of the one-year IT training programme of NIIT, and asked them to practise and perform what they have learnt.
During the convocation ceremony at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi campus, the NIIT-sponsored grandmaster and Deepak Pental, vice chancellor of Delhi University, presented the certificates to the top 25 among the 135 students of the 2006-07 batch.
"Having prepared yourselves for the challenging IT world, it is now time for you to practise what you have learnt and perform in the real world," said Anand.
He urged the students to be passionate about their work and also gave an example from his personal life.
"After I became the world champion in 2000, I went through a slump in form that lasted for seven months during which I had average performances.
"It came to a point when I asked myself is this what you play chess for. Then late in 2001 in went to play in Mexico City, where I was not among the favourites. So I had nothing to lose and played just for my love for the game and surprised everyone by winning the tournament," recalled Anand.
GNIIT is the flagship programme of NIIT, which is the largest IT training company in Asia.
NIIT chairman Rajendra Pawar congratulated the students on their success.
"NIIT students have been the flag bearers of the globally recognised Indian IT sector for the last 25 years. I congratulate students and urge them to play a key role in shaping the country's economy," he said.