Bhubaneswar: Chess player Aparajita Gochhikar added another feather to her already adorned cap by winning the bronze medal at the Asian Amateur Chess Championships – Women at Chiang Mai, Thailand. The event which started November 23, ended Thursday.
In the nine-round competition, Aparajita finished with seven points. She won six of her games while drawing two and losing a single match. Cuizon Loreshyl of Philippines won the gold medal with 7.5 points and Aparajita’s compatriot Sandhya Goli finished with the silver. Sandhya also finished with 7.5 points like Loreshyl, but had to settle for the second place after the Buccholz tie-breaker rules were applied to determine the winner.
Describing her journey on WhatsApp from Chiang Mai, the Orissa chess player said that she had enjoyed winning both her eighth and ninth round matches. “It was imperative that I win both the games to ensure a medal for myself,” Aparajita said. “There was pressure, but I am happy that I could produce my best when it was most needed,” Aparajita, who is currently employed with KIIT, added.
In her eighth round match, Aparajita defeated Fong Mi yen of Malaysia while in the last match she overcame Sri Lankan Sahini Ranasinghe.
Participants from 23 countries took part in the event. There were six Indians who took part with Sandhya and Aparajita finishing with medals.
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