BHUBANESWAR 30-Jul-2016
Odisha prodigy and top seed Saina Salonika of Odisha finished runner-up in the 30th National U-13 Girls Chess Championship, which concluded at Rajpath Club in Ahmedabad today. Jishitha D of Andhra Pradesh won the gold medal with 9.5 points, while Jyothsna L of Tamil Nadu pocketed the third prize with 8.5 points.
Woman Candidate Master Saina, a former World U-10 girls’ champion, squander the opportunity to win the title as she lost to eventual champion Jishitha in the ninth round. She was also forced to draw her sixth and seventh round duels by Mrudul Dehankar and Jyothsna L respectively.
Biswarupa Chol was the only other player from Odisha to compete in the girls’ category of the week-long championship. Biswarupa eventually ended up at the 66th position, scoring four points.
Odisha boys disappointed the state as no one among four competitors could secure a place among top 15 finishers. Mahitosh Dey (7.5) was the most successful among the group, occupying 16th position. Of the other two, Sambit Panda (7.5) and Pranab Patra (7) ended jup 20th and 24th respectively in the final placings.
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PHOTO: Saina Salonika with her runner-up prize in Ahmedabad on July 30, 2016.
