"Humpy Was Our Leader But Divya's Breakthrough A Complete Package": Viswanathan Anand To NDTV On Women's Chess World Cup Final
Speaking of the Women's Chess World Cup final between Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh, Anand said that while the former has been India's top chess player for a while, the progress that Divya has shown, makes her a complete package.
"Humpy was our leader for many years, playing at the top for decades. She took a couple of years off for personal reasons but showed an amazing comeback. She's the women's world rapid champion, won the Grand Prix in Pune earlier this year, and she's fighting for first place here. It's a remarkable second act. She never fully stopped, but she's showing how you can motivate yourself and compete with girls half her age, which is very difficult in today's chess world where change happens fast.
"It's really inspiring. On the other hand, Divya Deshmukh has been one of our most promising women. This breakthrough is the complete package-reaching the final, beating top women players. It's a breakthrough for her, giving her a lot of confidence and self-belief, and we'll see the results in the future," said Anand.
While India have won many medals on the global chess spectrum over the last couple of years, the rise of Indian women in the sport, on a global scale, is an all-new high. Anand is hopeful of these results inspiring more female chess players.
"Humpy and Harika have been our spearheads for many years. It was impressive that both came that far, and the young girls, Vaishali and Divya, were also competing. That two of them made it to the final tells the whole story. The Indian women's team has depth. We showed that by winning the gold medal in the Olympiad, and I think it augurs very well. I hope these results inspire many more girls to take up chess," he said.
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