PANJIM: Woman Grandmaster and Goodwill Ambassador of Goa Carbon Ltd Bhakti Kulkarni of Goa achieved another milestone in her illuminating career when she was picked up in the strong Indian Women’s team for the Asian Nations Cup to be held at Abu Dhabi from March 28.
The former Commonwealth Gold Medallist is in top form this year too. She won a bronze in the National Woman Premier Championship and followed it with an individual gold medal in the National Team Chess Championship at Bhubaneswar last month.
“I am thrilled to play for the Indian Woman Team as we shall be playing against strong teams of China, Philippines, Iran, Mongolia etc. I had played many Internationals as Junior before but this is a golden opportunity to play in the Women Team abroad,” gushed Bhakti.
Recently Bhakti was picked up for a special training camp by the All India Chess Federation. “This camp was for the probables of future Indian teams and I am honoured to be picked up in the top five of the country.”
Bhakti became Goa’s first Woman Grandmaster (WGM) after the World Chess Federation officially cleared her title at the 83rd FIDE Congress in Istanbul in 2012.
Bhakti secured three norms, necessary to qualify for the coveted title, through Marienbad Open in Czech Republic in January 2011, Asian Junior Girls U-20 in Sri Lanka in June 2011 and Caissa International in Hungary in September, 2011.
“For Goa it’s a matter of pride to have Bhakti in the Indian Women’s team and its very much deserving considering her excellent performance and she will surely perform well for India and it is really motivating factor for other Goan chess players to take chess further,” expressed Kishor Bandekar, Joint Secretary of All India Chess Federation. She has also been congratulated by the President, Vinay Tendulkar and all other members of GCA.
