“There were games where she [Divya] was in trouble, and there were games she failed to convert. But none of it mattered. She continued to fight hard with no fear! Her strong nerves carried her through the finish line.”
Susan Polgar
The legendary Susan Polgar has attributed Divya Deshmukh’s stunning World Cup title triumph to her unyielding will to succeed and mental toughness after the youngster created another significant moment for Indian chess.
“First of all, congratulations to Divya for this historic feat. Well done. Secondly, even though she may not be the pre-tournament favourite to win this World Cup, or the strongest, but she had what others did not, the will to win and mental toughness,” Susan told PTI Videos in an interview.
The 56-year-old Hungarian-American Grandmaster added, “There were games where she [Divya] was in trouble, and there were games she failed to convert. But none of it mattered. She continued to fight hard with no fear! Her strong nerves carried her through the finish line.”
Susan, who was the women’s world chess champion from 1996 to 1999, acknowledged that Indian chess is riding a wave of success and saw a bright future for the sport in the country. “When Gukesh became a Grandmaster at 12, he was not the highest rated among the top Indian prospects,” she said.
“Same with Divya. Even though she is not the highest rated female player in India, she also has the intangible qualities. These youngsters are fearless, and they have incredibly strong will to win. That makes up for some of the current deficiencies in their games, which I hope they will continue to improve with more training and experience.”
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
