Double Under 8 World Girls Champion Ivana Furtado added yet another feather
in her cap by winning the Silver medal in the Under 10 Girls section of the
Asian Youth Chess Championships which concluded in Teheran, Iran today.
Woman FIDE Master and Chowgule College student Bhakti Kulkarni also added a
Bronze to the Goan kitty. Interestingly, showing remarkable consistency,
both the Goan wondergirls have won a medal at the Asian level for four years
consecutively since New Delhi in the year 2005!
The Dempo Goodwill Brand Ambassador Ivana beat Iranian player Alijanzadeh
Mohadeseh in the final round to finish with six and a half points. M.
Mahalakshmi finished with eight points for the Gold medal and G.K. Monnisha
bagged the bronze with six points. Her coach Dronacharya awardee Raghunandan
Gokhale praised her 'fighting spirit and sheer determination' while winning
this medal.
Goa's Riya Sawant was unlucky to finish fourth in the Girls Under 8 Section.
She lost her last round match to her Vietnamese opponent Vu Thie Dieu Uyen
and finished just out of the medals tally. A draw in the last round would
have ensured her a Bronze medal. Indian Tejaswini Sagar bagged the Silver
medal in this section behind Zhansaya Abdumalik of Kazhakastan.
National Junior Girls Champion and Monginis Brand Ambassador Bhakti Kulkarni
was lucky to finish third when she edged out Pon. N. Krithika on a tiebreak
to win the Bronze Medal in the Girls Under 16 Section. Perhaps it was the
strain of playing her third tournament in a row which did not allow her to
perform upto expectations.
Ivana, who was recenlty awarded the Gulab award for the best Sportsperson,
will now travel to Singapore for the World Schools Chess Championships. She
will be joined there by fellow Goans - Pranav Zantye, Cyrus Perreira,
Anirudh Bhat and Bhakti Kulkarni.
Source: AICF Vice President Sameer A. Salgaocar
