Athlete Interview of 2026 FISU World University Championship Mind Sports

South African Delegation – Chess

Q: So which country do you represent?
A: Hello my name is Lucia Pogella, I’m from South Africa, aged 24, and we’re here to play Chess, our country released eight players, four male and four female and I’m with two of my ladies here, I guess it has been a bad day, so they’ll tell you about their day as well, thank you.

Q: So what are your impressions of this championship?
A: It has been a good experience being in Liaocheng, it’s a beautiful city, they call it a water city, they have really nice people, nice food and it’s been amazing, I really like the city.

Q: How do you feel your performance today?
A: Actually I feel good about my performance because I am playing against higher rated players, so I get to learn from how they play as players who are more experienced than me.