I got off to a great start and gained advantage in the initial phases but a few moves got me in a complicated position

ABU DHABI: After three consecutive draws, Indian Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli bounced back with a win over CM Suleymanli Aydin of Azerbaijan in the seventh round of the Master’s tournament of the Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival.

The World No. 9 Indian, playing with white pieces, started the game on an attacking note and gained an advantage in the initial stages of the game.

The 12-year-old lad from Azerbaijan put up a staunch fight to contain the attacking Indian, but couldn’t do so as Harika took the game away from him after 40 moves.

“I got off to a great start and gained an advantage in the initial phases of the game but a few miscalculated moves from my end got me in a complicated position,” Harika said.

“Although when we were both were under the pressure of the clock and both kings were under attack, I outplayed him with a few strategies of my own,” she added.

After seven rounds in the nine-round Swiss tournament, Harika has amassed a total of four and a half points, courtesy three wins, three draws and just one loss. She has broken into the top-10 of the standings.

The ninth-placed Indian will take on GM Ivan Rozum from Russia in the eighth round of the tournament.

The Grandmaster failed to maintain her unbeaten run, losing to Romanian Grandmaster Bogdan-daniel Deac in the fourth round of the Master’s tournament. MUMBAI: Impressed with his ward’s performance, Indian football coach Stephen Constantine feels his newly-appointed skipper Sandesh Jhingan is meant for “playing in a bigger league”.

As India gear up for the second match in the Hero International tri-series against St Kitts and Nevis, Constantine lavished praise on Jhingan.

“The captain has to reflect the character of the team. He has to set the tone of the team. Sandesh is a fighter like me who loves to lead the side from the front,” he said. Jhingan made his debut for India against Nepal, which was Constantine’s first match as coach in his second stint.

“Sandesh, to me, is a player who should be playing in a bigger league,” Constantine said.

Hosts India beat Mauritius 2-1 in Jhingan’s first match as captain.

A defender par excellence, Jhingan wasn’t too much willing to dwell on his performance.

“Playing for your country is itself a great honour and here I am, leading my country,” he stated.

Jhingan has played a stellar role in the back-four along with Anas Etathodika, Pritam Kotal, Narayan Das and Gurpreet Sandhu (in goal) in helping India create a new record for by winning nine international matches, including the unofficial game against Bhutan.

Constantine further went on to say that Jhingan is one of the “leaders for the future”.

“In coming days, at least we can identify Sandesh as a leader once Sunil (Chhetri) hangs his boots,” he maintained.

Meanwhile, Chhetri, along with Gurpreet and Udanta Singh will be joining the national camp after Bengaluru FC’S AFC Cup stint.

The Indian football team have won two out of their two matches in the Asian Federation Cup (AFC) Asian Cup Qualifiers against Myanmar (away) and Kyrgyz Republic (at home) and will face Macau on September 5 (in Macau).