India's new world champion Koneru Hampi made a grand end of the year 2019 by winning the Rapid Class title at the World Rapid and Blitz tournament in Moscow. Hampi said that winning the world title is like a dream come true but she was also surprised to achieve this feat in the rapid format as she has always been a contender in the classical format. On returning from Moscow, she said, 'This is my first world title. People had long been expecting me to be the world champion and this is really unexpected. I was not a title contender in the rapid tournament. I did well and it pulled to the tiebreaker. '
Hampi finished at 12th place in the World Rapid and Blitz tournament. She said that she aims to win the world title in the classical format and she will try to achieve it. She lost to Hou Yifan in the final of the Classical format World Championship in 2011. Hampi said, 'I have always been a contender but never a champion. I came close to it. I will keep trying for this. When I have to win it, I will be able to win it. Classical world titles have a completely different challenge. You need different skills for different formats. I will continue to do my best to achieve this big goal. '
Hampi remained out of the game for two years after her daughter's birth, but the 32-year-old said she had never missed the game. She said, 'I wanted to return and it was pre-planned. After the birth of my daughter, I thought that when she turns one year, I will decide to play in the tournament. Certainly I did not do well in the opening tournament. It was not easy to achieve success at a high professional level after being out for a long time. I started playing well since January.'
