India certain for chess gold

India are unbeatable in the final day of the team classical chess tournament tomorrow, finishing the penultimate day of the competition with a 5.5 point lead against next best team, China.

India finished the day on 21 match points overall, well ahead of China's 15.5. It means that even should India lose and China win their matches tomorrow in the final, India will still be 2.5 points in the lead, giving them gold.

China, however, cannot feel so confident about their current silver medal position. Qatar are currently third with 15 points, while Kazakhstan holds 14.5 in fourth place, and Indonesia, IR Iran, Uzbekistan and Bangladesh are tied with 13.5 match points each.

Qatar was the best performer of the top teams today, winning all three of its matches against 10th ranked Turkmenistan. India was two wins and a draw against eighth ranked Indonesia, while China fared less well with a win, a loss and a draw against fourth ranked Kazakhstan.

Qatar's Chen Zhu said their success was the result of effort, "It was a tough game and I had to try very hard. Fortunately, my opponent made a wrong move at one point and I was able to take advantage of it.

"It is very important for us to win [tomorrow]. All of us have to be in very good shape and also, we have to be lucky. There will be no special preparation. We will just prepare as we always do. We have a good chance of winning. We have very good coaches," Chen said.

Lata Koneru, mother of star Indian performer Humpy Koneru, was delighted with her daughter's performance, "I was very happy and excited when my daughter won the gold medal in the individual event. That she has now gained another gold medal in the team classical chess makes me even happier. It is a feeling which cannot be expressed in words.

"My daughter's achievements are all the more impressive as she is here without her father, who normally acts as her mentor and her coach, but could not come to the Games. Humpy has just called him to inform him of her victory and she told me that he is thrilled."

15th Asian Games, Doha 2006