Bengaluru, April 16 -- Vaishali R is still in disbelief. After a wild fortnight at the Women's Candidates tournament in Cyprus, where the field seemed wide open, the Indian emerged champion. She is only the second player from the country to qualify for the Women's World Championship match.

HT spoke to the 24-year-old challenger after her historic win. Excerpts:

(Laughs) No, I just could not sleep. I was replying to texts. I thought I'll sleep well after the tournament, but it's just too many emotions. It hasn't sunk in yet. It's taken years and years of hard work to earn this moment.

I still can't believe it. The first time I saw a World Championship match was when (Viswanathan) Anand sir played Magnus (Carlsen)in Chennai, in 2013. Jus...