India Women Top Swiss System Preliminary To Enter Quarterfinals

Chennai: The top-seeded Indian women recorded three wins on Monday to finish on top in the Swiss system preliminaries and qualify for the quarterfinals of Asian Online Nations (Regions) Cup Team Championship. They will face Kyrgyzstan in the last eight after topping the preliminary phase with 16 match points (two match points for a win and 1 for a draw) ahead of the Philippines (13) and Iran (13).

On a good day for the Indians, they beat the Philippines 3-1 in round seven, Kazakhstan 2.5-1.5 in the eighth round before edging out Vietnam 2.5-1.5 in the ninth and final round. In the fixture against the Philippines, Mary Ann Gomes and P V Nandhidhaa posted victories while R Vaishali on the top board and Padmini Rout on the second board, settled for draws.

In the subsequent round, Vaishali faced a reverse against Bibisara Assaubayeva while Bhakti Kulkarni drew Gulmira Dauletova. Rout and Nandhidhaa secured wins to seal the match 2.5-1.5 against Kazakhstan. Later in the final round against Vietnam, Vaishali and Mary Ann Gomes were the star performers, posting wins over Thi Kim Phung Vo and Hong Anh Nguyen as India triumphed 2.5-1.5 after overcoming Bhakti Kulkarni’s defeat.

Vaishali performed very well for the top-seeded Indians with 6.5 points from nine games while Mary Ann Gomes contributed five points. After the conclusion of the nine-round Swiss System preliminaries in both men’s and women’s division, played with a time control of 15 minutes plus 5 seconds increment, the top eight teams qualified for the knockout quarter-finals. The tournament will conclude with the finals on October 25.

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