Vaishali breaks silence on Nodirbek Yakubboev refusing handshake: 'Respect his views and decisions'

Vaishali said that she has known the Uzbek GM Nodirbek Yakubboev for a long time and that he is a “nice person". Vaishali said that she did not find the act of denying a handshake as “disrespecting” as she felt Nodirbek Yakubboev may have been unwell. “The handshake is part of the game, but I also respect his views and decisions. I know him, it’s not like he is a new person in the chess world. I’ve known him for many years and have spoken to him. He is a very nice person. So this refusal of handshake, it did not occur to me that he is disrespecting me or something. It didn’t even occur to me. I thought maybe he was sick or something. Because in COVID, we had no handshakes. I thought maybe there was some reason,” Vaishali told The Indian Express. “That incident did not affect me. I didn’t bother about it. Once the game started, I focussed on the game. There is nothing else to think about. This happened in the 4th game. Very much later in the tournament, everything blew up. I didn’t even know what was happening on social media. Only later I got to know. It was a strong tournament. I was just focussed on the tournament and the game,” Vaishali added.