How Divya Deshmukh, 19, brought down ex-women's world champion Tan Zhongyi to enter FIDE World Cup final
The end of the game some emotional moments from both players: as Tan searched desperately for another escape hatch and tried to think of a Hail Mary of a move, Divya, realising that there was no way she was going to lose, covered her eyes and composed herself. Tan herself looked aghast at how she had let the game slip away.
The 19-year-old from Maharashtra thus earns a spot in the FIDE Women's Candidates tournament, a grandmaster norm and a spot in the final. The other semi-final of the day, between Koneru Humpy and Lei Tingjie ended in a draw after a phase where Humpy had winning chances. Humpy and Lei will be back on the board tomorrow for rapid tiebreaks for a chance to face off against Divya.
Divya has been the revelation of the Women's World Cup in Georgia's Batumi, taking down promising IM from Serbia Injac Teodora, world no 6 from China Zhu Jiner, veteran Indian grandmaster Dronavalli Harika, and finally a woman who was the women's world champion in 2018.
Divya's run at the ongoing FIDE Women's World Cup is reminiscent of the 2023 FIDE World Cup when an 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa had gone on a giant-killing spree, taking down Arjun Erigaisi, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura before losing in the final to Magnus Carlsen.
Only last year, Divya became a World Junior Champion. Since then, she's been the face of the Indian women's team that won the gold at the Chess Olympiad at Budapest last year, where she won an individual gold medal herself.
Amit Kamath is Assistant Editor at The Indian Express and is based in Mumbai. ... Read More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
19 minutes ago
- India Today
Jaya Bhattacharya recalls being most underpaid actor on Kyunki: Got Rs 1000 raise
Actor Jaya Bhattacharya, who played the scheming Payal Parikh on 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi', recently shared her experiences with pay inequality on the show. During a recent interview, she discussed the financial challenges she her conversation with Siddharth Kannan on his podcast, Bhattacharya revealed she was 'most underpaid actor' on the sets of 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi'. Although her colleagues received raises, she did not experience the same financial kabhi raise hi nahi mila (I never got a raise)," she said. When Siddharth asked her if that was the case for all seven years, Jaya Bhattacharya confirmed, 'Ek baar mila tha maangne pe (I got one raise after asking for it)." She further explained that while other actors were given Rs 2000 hikes at the time, she was offered only half of that. "Jahaan sabko do-do hazaar mile the raise, wahan mujhe ek hazaar mila tha (Where everyone else got two thousand rupees as raise, I got one thousand),' she recalled. 'Mere ego ko lag gaya. Ek toh mujhe maangna pad raha hai, aur phir mujhe wahi nahi mil raha jo doosron ko mila. Kya main itni important character nahi Hoon (My ego got hurt. I have to ask for something, and then I am not getting what others got. Am I not such an important character?)?" she said that moment made her vow never to ask for a raise again, even though others around her continued to get regular increments. 'Toh maanga nahi. Baakiyon ka toh lagataar raise hota rehta tha,' she said, pointing out how others went on to become more successful than Bhattacharya was part of the original ensemble cast of 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu', which starred Smriti Irani in the lead role and went on to become one of Indian television's most iconic daily soaps. As Star Plus gears up to launch a reboot of the show on July 29, it is unclear if Bhattacharya will return to reprise her role.- EndsMust Watch
Indian Express
19 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘He should have asked his bowlers to bowl underarm like Greg Chappell': Ashwin takes a dig at Ben Stokes' draw offer and sledging Jadeja
The final day of the fourth Test between India and England in Manchester saw its share of controversies as England captain Ben Stokes showed frustration over Indian batsmen Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar refusing a handshake and draw offer with one hour remaining. While Jadeja and Sundar stitched an unbroken 202-run fifth-wicket partnership to end England's hopes of victory, Stokes targeted them verbally, asking Jadeja: 'You want to get a Test hundred against Harry Brook?' With Stokes opting to bowl part-timers Harry Brook and Joe Root in the mandatory last hour, former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin sarcastically suggested Stokes should have gone further. 'I am actually disappointed. He (Ben Stokes) should have asked his bowlers to bowl underarm like Greg Chappell. It would have looked nice. Please don't talk about the spirit of cricket, sportsmanship. This is ridiculous,' Ashwin said on his YouTube channel Ash Ki Baat. 'What is the rule? If both captains believe the game cannot head towards a result, they can agree to a draw. One captain wanted to close it out. Why? First, he didn't want to tire his bowlers. Second, 'I am frustrated. You should also not be happy.' The second point isn't in the rules. According to the first point, India was right. If I were captain, I would have played all 15 overs.' While Stokes cited protecting his frontline bowlers from fatigue and injury, the incident drew reactions from across the cricketing world, including Indian coach Gautam Gambhir, who defended India's right to bat. At the start of the final hour, Jadeja was on 89 and Sundar on 80. Both went on to complete centuries—Sundar's maiden Test hundred and Jadeja's fifth. Ashwin called Stokes' behavior 'double standards.' 'Double standards. They defined it in the last ten minutes today. You're frustrated you can't win, so you fight with your players, punch the ball, do whatever. But by offering a handshake, you're saying, 'I'm frustrated, so you also don't get a hundred. You also go crying.' How is this fair? He's battled since morning against Archer, Hoggard, Gough, Flintoff. Should he leave his century? Your question was, 'Do you want a century against Harry Brook?' No, he wants a century. Bring Steve Harmison, bring Flintoff! They wouldn't say no. You're bowling Harry Brook—that's your mistake, not ours.' Stokes exchanged words with Jadeja, while England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett also sledged the Indian pair. Crawley was heard telling Sundar: 'F***ing hell Washi, get on with it,' with Jofra Archer adding: 'If you wanted a hundred, you should have batted like it earlier.' Sundar reached his maiden Test ton before the teams agreed to a draw after five overs. Ashwin mocked Crawley's comments, declaring the result an 'Indian win': 'Zak Crawley told him, 'If you wanted 100, you should have batted quicker.' That's his choice. You want quick runs and get out at 70? That's your game. Zak Crawley or Ben Stokes, if you were batting, would you leave your hundred for the 'spirit of the game'? I feel like laughing. It's crazy. That's why I say this isn't a draw, it's an Indian win.'
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
19 minutes ago
- First Post
Under-fire Ben Stokes gets backing from Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott: 'Very easy to have a pop at him'
England batting greats Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott have thrown their weights behind the Test team captain Ben Stokes as he faces criticism for venting frustration at India declining his initial offer for a draw on Day 5 in Manchester Test. read more Former England batting greats Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott have come out in support of embattled Ben Stokes as the England captain faces accusations of behaving like a "spoiled kid" over his outburst after India declined his offer for a draw on Sunday in the Manchester Test. Stokes offered a handshake to Ravindra Jadeja with 15 overs left in Day 5's play as a draw looked like the only possibility in the match, but the Indian all-rounder, who was batting on 89, declined the handshake. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Soon after, Jadeja went on to hit his fifth Test hundred as Washington Sundar completed his maiden century. India eventually agreed to a draw after both player completed their milestones. Later, Stokes defended his decision by claiming that he didn't want his bowlers to suffer any injury, but faced criticism from former cricketers, including Nasser Hussain, who called out Harry Brook's 'silly' bowling. Pietersen, Trott speak in support of Stokes But Stokes has also found some support from former England cricketers, including Pietersen and Trott. Pietersen wrote on social media that Stokes should be allowed to display his emotion and was well within his rights as the team had toiled hard in the field and a result was not possible. '2 days fielding and no result on the cards - you WANT to get off the field! You cannot have a pop at Ben Stokes for his frustration. Very easy to have a pop at him when you're sitting in your lounge watching. You're NOT in the battle. Leave the men in the ring to be emotional,' Pietersen wrote on X. 2 days fielding and no result on the cards - you WANT to get off the field! You cannot have a pop at Ben Stokes for his frustration. Very easy to have a pop at him when you're sitting in your lounge watching. You're NOT in the battle. Leave the men in the ring to be emotional. — Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) July 28, 2025 Trott said that Stokes offering a draw when two batters were nearing a hundred is a normal tradition in England when a draw becomes the most likely outcome of a match. 'I am not sure if it was necessary, but the common practice — certainly here in England — is that if you're offered the opportunity to finish the game early, it's usually more about the game situation than personal milestones. From Ben Stokes' perspective, no personal milestone comes ahead of the team's goal. In this case, India's goal was to secure a draw, and they achieved that,' Trott said on JioHotstar. 'So for England, the expectation was that India would shake hands and walk off with 80 not out — that would normally suffice. But I can also understand the other side. For someone like Washington Sundar, who has batted so well, giving up the chance to score a debut hundred is not easy. You never know when another opportunity will come. So, I understand both viewpoints. England are probably a little frustrated but that's natural. What this does, though, is set things up nicely for the next Test. It's going to be spicy, and I'm looking forward to it.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Catch Day 1 of the fifth Test of India's tour of England on 31st July, live from 3:30 PM, on JioHotstar.
