‘Onward and upward’: Anand Mahindra hails Divya Deshmukh as she becomes first Indian to reach FIDE Women’s World Cup final

See the post here:

Onward and upward @DivyaDeshmukh05 !!

Always gratifying to see the Chinese fortress stormed! https://t.co/ST3LQREQzt

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) July 24, 2025

The post garnered over 20K views as several social media users congratulated Deshmukh.

“It’s unfortunate that these athletes are only remembered when they somehow manage to win by both the public and the government. If they received attention and support beforehand, many of them could make the country proud and win Olympic medals. But sadly, neither we nor the government can think beyond cricket,” a user wrote. “Divya just reminded the Chinese camp that it’s not just their firewalls that can be breached. Indian queens invade too, and with style!” another user commented.

“This is the kind of news that should be all over social media, not the nonsense that is influencing the youth wrongly,” a third user reacted.

Before eliminating compatriot Harika Dronavalli in the quarterfinals, Deshmukh outperformed China’s Zhu Jiner in the fourth round.

The FIDE Women’s World Cup is the most pivotal tournament in the Women’s World Championship cycle, offering three qualification spots for the Candidates Tournament. Additional spots are awarded through the Women’s Grand Prix Series 2024–25 and the Grand Swiss, with each granting two spots. The final place goes to the top performer from the ‘FIDE Women’s Events 2025–26’ series. The winner of the Candidates will earn the opportunity to challenge the reigning World Champion, Ju Wenjun of China.