BHUBANESWAR 05-Nov-2015
Odisha chess prodigy Saina Salonika added yet another feather to her cap by winning bronze medal in under-12 girls category of the World Youth Championship that concluded at Porto Carros Grand Resort in Halkidiki (Greece) today.
Asserting overwhelming superiority in the 12-day championship, a 50-member Indian contingent finished at the top of the medals table, bagging a total of 11 medals, which included five gold, three silver and three bronze.
Bhubaneswar lass Saina remained undefeated in the 11-round tournament, while winning six games and drawing five for a total score of 8.5 points. Salimova Nurguel of Belgium captured the gold while Yip Carissa of USA got the silver.
This was third medal for Saina in the World Youth Chess Championship and 11th overall in international tournaments. Of her earlier two World Youth medals, she had claimed bronze in under-8 category at Caldas Novas (Brazil) in 2011 and gold in under-10 category at All Ain (UAE) in 2013.
With the bronze medal at Halkidiki, Saina, a standard VII student of KIIT International School, gained 67 rating points and took her tally to 1932. Mahanadi Coal Fields Limited sponsored Saina for the World Youth Championship. She also received support from KIIT and KISS.
INDIAN MEDALLISTS:
Gold: WFM Mahalakshmi M (U-18 girls), WFM Vaishali R (U-14 girls), FM Praggnanandhaa R (U-10 open), Rakshitta Ravi (U-10 girls), Bharath Subramaniyam H (U-8 open).
Silver: WFM Varshini V (U-18 girls), CM Nihal Sarin (U-12 open), Dev Shah (U-8 open).
Bronze: Vantika Agrawal (U-14 girls), WCM Salonika Saina (U-12 girls), WFM Divya Deshmukh (U-10 girls).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTO: Saina Salonika with her medal and trophy in Halkidiki on Nov 5, 2015.
