WGM Vantika becomes India’s number 3 player, hopes for Asian Games cut
WGM Vantika Agarwal has increased her FIDE rating by 61 points, reaching 2428, and has now become India’s No. 3 women’s player. SRCC student Vantika has played four international tournaments in the last two months and secured her third and final IM norm in Budapest. She became the 11th Indian woman to hold the International Master (IM) title in chess. She is hoping to be selected for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Vantika had become the women’s champion at the Menorca Open in Spain last month. She also won a bronze at the National Women’s Championships in Kolhapur in January and then a gold for the Airports Authority of India in February.
She played on board 1 for the India 2 team in the 44th Chess Olympiad last year. In 2021, Vantika achieved the title of Women’s Grand Master, became the national champion and won gold for SRCC at the FIDE Binance B-Schools Cup.
In 2020, she was part of the Indian gold medal-winning team at the Olympiad. She was honored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while she also received the President’s Award from former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee for excellence in sports.
