"I want to give credit to my sister, family and coach": 2025 FIDE Women's World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh
She returned home on Wednesday and was given a rousing welcome by her family and supporters, who gathered at the Nagpur Airport to receive her.
Divya, a 19-year-old rising sensation in the world of chess, became the first Indian woman to clinch the Chess World Cup after overwhelming Koneru on Monday evening in the final via tiebreaks. She became just the fourth Indian woman grandmaster and overall the 88th in the nation to clinch that title.
"I am happy. I feel very good to see that so many people have gathered here to welcome me. My heart is very happy. I want to give credit to my sister, my whole family, and my first coach, Rahul Joshi," Divya said to the media.
During the tense contest, a string of inaccuracies in the second rapid game contributed to Koneru's downfall. She found herself a pawn down in the rook endgame, which played out in Divya's favour. The veteran allowed the situation to sink in and resigned on the 75th move and fell short in a gripping final with a score of 2.5-1.5.
Divya failed to capitalise on the two windows that Koneru left open for her with her inaccurate moves.
However, on the third time, Koneru inflicted more damage on herself by capturing the f pawn on move 69, which changed the tide in Divya's favour towards the final moments of the contest.
This time around, Divya made no mistake, played the right moves and forced Koneru to resign after six moves. Her eyes welled up with tears as she began to grasp the scale of her victory.
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