Credit: Google
Divya Deshmukh created history by defeating India's Woman No.1 Koneru Humpy in FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup final on Monday, July 28. The 19-year-old not only marked herself as a World Cup winner, but she also wrote her name in the history books by achieving her final norm for attaining the Grandmaster (GM) title. The Indian President Droupadi Murmu was full of praises for the 19-year-old in a post on the official X account "@rashtrapatibhvn".
Her post read, "My heartiest congratulations to Divya Deshmukh who has become the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women’s World Cup, that too, at a very young age of nineteen." The President also congratulated Koneru Humpy for being the runner-up and emphasised that she is proud of the talents available in our country. She also shared her joy in regards to seeing two Indians fought for the World Cup in the finals, which showcases the remarkable skillsets that they possess. She is confident that both of these women would continue to inspire the country and achieve greater glories throughout their career.
Viswanathan Anand reacts to Divya Deshmukh attaining the Grandmaster title
By achieving the Grandmaster title, Divya Deshmukh becomes the fourth Indian woman to achieve this feat behind Koneru Humpy, Dronavalli Harika, and R Vaishali, apart from being the overall 88th Indian to attain this incredible milestone. The five-time World Champion and Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand took to his social media to congratulate the 19-year-old and the runner-up Koneru Humpy.
He wrote a post on the social media platform X, stating, "Congratulations to Divya Deshmukh on winning the World Cup. Becoming GM and a spot in the candidates. Amazing battle of nerves. Koneru Humpy played a very good event and showed a commendable fighting spirit. The great champion she is! It was a great celebration of Indian chess, particularly Women's chess."
