Nagpur-based Divya Deshmukh clinched the gold medal in the girls Under-12 category at the World Cadet Chess championship at Pocos de Caldas, Brazil, on Thursday. Deshmukh remained unbeaten in the championship, picking up 9.5 points along the way.
The 11-year-old Deshmukh, seeded third, won eight games and drew three rounds en route to her triumph. The 19 other Indian members who participated in the event, fell short of landing a medal while participating in the three age categories – Under-8, Under-10 and Under-12.
Deshmukh entered the final round facing a must-win situation. She topped the table by beating her compatriot and the top-seeded Rakshitta Ravi. Her gold medal was confirmed after USA’s Matus Nastassja lost to Lhotska Anna.
The Nagpur girl had already assured herself of a silver medal after beating Uzbekistan’s Maftuna Bobomurodova in 38 moves in the 10th round. Three other Indians in the event, M Sahithi Varshini (U-10 girls), Bharath Subramaniyam (U-10 open) and AR Ilamparthi (U-8 open) missed a medal finish by a narrow margin.