Asian Nations Online Cup: B Adhiban, R Vaishali shine as Indian men's, women's teams enter finals

B Adhiban and R Vaishali shone bright as the top-seeded Indian men and women teams entered the finals of the Asian Nations (Regions) Online Cup championship with victories over Kazakhstan and Mongolia respectively on Saturday. While the men beat Kazakhstan 2.5-1.5 and 3-1, the women’s side posted 3.5-0.5 and 4-0 wins over Mongolia. B Adhiban notched up important victories over Rinat Jumabayev on the top board in both his matches. In the first match, India rode on Adhiban’s win while Nihal Sarin, SP Sethuraman and K Sasikiran drew their games. In the second match, Adhiban, Sarin and Sethuraman won their respective games but Sasikiran suffered a defeat at the hands of Denis Makhnev. The Indian team, led by Surya Sekhar Ganguly, faces Australia in Sunday’s final. Ganguly didn’t play any match on Saturday. In the women’s semifinal, India were in dominant form and won both the matches comprehensively. R Vaishali, winner of the gold medal on the top board in the preliminary phase, won both her games against Batkhuyag Munguntuul. The team led by Woman Grandmaster Mary Ann Gomes will meet Indonesia in the final on Sunday. Apart from Vaishali, Padmini Rout and P V Nandhidhaa recorded wins against their opponents in the first match, while Gomes drew her game. In the second match, there were wins for Vaishali, Bhakti Kulkarni, Rout and Nandhidhaa as Indian team won 4-0.