There is no age boundary for chess competition at the Doha Asian Games.

The 65-year-old Japanese player Emiko Nakagawa is one of the entrants in Doha 2006 chess competition, who deserves to be described as "advanced in years".

Age is not a barrier for her sport, however she is a high-lum figure as one of the oldest competitors at the Games.

"I feel perfectly normal to be competing here," she said. "Not only have I played in 10 Chess Olympiads, it is also not strange for a chess player to compete at a high level when one is older."

Meanwhile, India is fielding 19-year-old Humpy Koneru, coached by her mother Lata Koneru.

"Originally, we named our daughter champion, because we hoped she would excel in whatever sport she was to choose," said her mother. "We later adapted it to make it sound more Indian and it became Humpy."

"Normally, Humpy is accompanied by her father, who doubles up as her coach. But he could not come to Doha as the local customs and traditions segregate men and women. Then it came down to me to accompany our daughter," the mother explained.