India’s Rameshbabu Vaishali won the Women’s Candidates Tournament on Wednesday, defeating Kateryna Lagno to secure a World Championship showdown with reigning champion Ju Wenjun of China.
R Vaishali competes in Candidates. (HT_PRINT)
Six players were still in the race for first place heading into the final round, with Vaishali and Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva tied on 7.5 points. Vaishali finished on 8.5.
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The 24-year-old grandmaster ended the 14-game tournament with five wins and two losses, finishing half a point ahead of Assaubayeva, who drew her final game against India’s Divya Deshmukh.
Ju has held the title since 2018 after defeating fellow Chinese grandmaster Tan Zhongyi.
She has since defended her crown successfully on multiple occasions, beating Kateryna Lagno in 2018, Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina in 2020, China’s Lei Tingjie in 2023, and Tan in 2025.
Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov clinched victory in the open category with a round to spare, winning six of his 13 matches and losing none to set up a World Championship match against India's Gukesh Dommaraju.
Probuddha Bhattacharjee is a sports writer and analyst with expertise spanning cricket, football, and multi-sport events, with a strong emphasis on data-driven journalism and tactical storytelling. He currently focuses on international cricket, the Indian Premier League, global tournaments, and emerging trends shaping modern sport, blending advanced statistics with strong narrative context to explain performance, strategy, and decision-making. His work aims to bridge the gap between numbers and storytelling, helping readers understand not just what happened on the field, but the tactical and structural reasons behind it.
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Stay updated with the latest sports news, including latest headlines and updates from the Olympics 2024, where Indian athletes will compete for glory in Paris. Catch all the action from tennis Grand Slam tournaments, follow your favourite football teams and players with the latest match results, and get the latest on international hockey tournaments and series.
Home/Sports/Others/R Vaishali becomes first Indian to win FIDE Women's Candidates - Set to take on Ju Wenjun in WCC final
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