BHUBANESWAR 16-Jun-2015 19
Odisha Women Candidate Master Saina Salonika achieved a treble by winning three gold medals in girls-12 category of the 16th ASEAN Age Group Chess Championship that concluded at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore on today.
Bhubaneswar-based Saina pocketed one individual gold in blitz event and two team gold in standard and rapid events. In the nine-round blitz competition, she garnered eight points, winning eight games and losing one against Tan Huynh Thanh Truc of Vietnam.
Standard-VII student of KIIT International School, Saina finished fourth in rapid category with 4.5 points. In standard category, top seed Saina finished fifth with six points out of a possible nine.
Altogether 459 players from 16 countries of Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) participated in the nine-day championship. India occupied overall third position with a total of nine individual medals, which included six gold, two silver and one bronze. Vietnam topped the table with 53 medals (18+19+16), while Philippines ended second with 33 (10+14+9).
INDIAN INDIVIDUAL MEDALLISTS:
WCM Tejaswini Sagar (Maharashtra): Gold in girls-16 rapid and silver in girls-20 standard. WCM Gunjal Chopdekar (Goa): Gold in G-10 blitz and silver in G-10 rapid. WCM Bommini Mounika Akshaya (AP): Gold in G-12 standard and bronze in G-12 rapid. WFM Sakshi Chitlange (Maharashtra): Gold in G-18 standard. WCM Saina Salonika (Odisha): Gold in G-12 blitz.
Dhulipalla Bala Chandra Prasad (AP): Gold in Open-20 rapid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTO: Saina Salonika poses with her gold medals in Singapore on June 16, 2015.
