Sri Lanka’s Oshini Gunawardena of Wycherley International School, made history by clinching the country’s first-ever bronze medal at the inaugural FIDE Under-8-12 World Cup, which concluded yesterday in Batumi, Georgia.
Competing in the Under-12 category, Gunawardena secured her place on the podium by defeating Kristina Zavivaeva twice in the second round. Her achievement comes amidst tough competition from 286 players representing 38 countries.
Despite a challenging loss in her penultimate game, Gunawardena’s impressive performance earned her six points out of seven, tying her for first place with Bordoloi Pratitee (India) but narrowly missing the top spot on tiebreakers. Undeterred, she rebounded to secure a remarkable bronze medal.
This isn’t Gunawardena’s first international success; she previously claimed the top spot at the FIDE World Cadets Championship (U-12 Girls) in Egypt and also won the West Asia U-12 Rapid Title in the same category.
Already holding the title of Women’s FIDE Master and the senior national women’s champion, Gunawardena aims to take part in the upcoming Chess Olympiad, the world’s largest team chess championship later this year.
Sri Lanka’s delegation at the tournament consisted of five players, with Gunawardena’s performance standing out. Another notable achievement was by Hasini Anuththara Rupasinghe, who secured 18th place in the U-8 Girls category. The Sri Lankan contingent also included Venukan Nayanakheshan (U-8 Open), Thehas Rithmitha Kiringoda (U-10 Open), and Sanuk Nanayakkara (U-12 Open).
The tournament format included two groups per category, with players finishing in the same position competing to determine final rankings. Gunawardena, placed in Group B of the Girls’ U-12 category, led early with five consecutive victories.
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