Ivana wins Silver, Bhakti wins Bronze in Iran!

(Photo - National Junior Girls Champion
Bhakti Kulkarni in action in Iran)

Double Under 8 World Girls Champion
Ivana Furtado added yet another feather
in her cap by winning the Silver medal
in the Under 10 Girls section of the Asian
Youth Chess Championships which concluded
in Teheran, Iran today. Woman FIDE Master
and Chowgule College student Bhakti Kulkarni
also added a Bronze to the Goan kitty. Interestingly,
showing remarkable consistency, both the Goan
wondergirls have won a medal at the Asian level for
four years consecutively since New Delhi in
the year 2005!

The Dempo Goodwill Brand Ambassador Ivana
beat Iranian player Alijanzadeh Mohadeseh
in the final round to finish with six and a
half points. M. Mahalakshmi finished with
eight points for the Gold medal and G.K.
Monnisha bagged the bronze with six points.
Her coach Dronacharya awardee Raghunandan
Gokhale praised her 'fighting spirit and sheer
determination' while winning this medal.

Goa's Riya Sawant was unlucky to finish
fourth in the Girls Under 8 Section. She lost
her last round match to her Vietnamese
opponent Vu Thie Dieu Uyen and finished
just out of the medals tally. A draw in the last
round would have ensured her a Bronze medal.
Indian Tejaswini Sagar bagged the Silver medal
in this section behind Zhansaya Abdumalik of
Kazhakastan.

National Junior Girls Champion and Monginis
Brand Ambassador Bhakti Kulkarni was lucky to
finish third when she edged out Pon. N. Krithika
on a tiebreak to win the Bronze Medal in the Girls
Under 16 Section. Perhaps it was the strain of
playing her third tournament in a row which did not
allow her to perform upto expectations.

Ivana, who was recenlty awarded the Gulab award for the
best Sportsperson, will now travel to Singapore for
the World Schools Chess Championships. She
will be joined there by fellow Goans - Pranav
Zantye, Cyrus Perreira, Anirudh Bhat and Bhakti
Kulkarni.