Indian challenge ended at the World Women Chess Championship with grandmaster D Harika bowing out following a defeat against former champion Alexandra Kosteniuk of Russia in the second set of tie-break games here.
Harika had carried the Indian hopes nicely till the tie-breaker of the third round. However, she got a jolt in the first game of the rapid tie-break where both players had 25 minutes on their clock.
The Indian looked down and out but a major comeback was on the cards as she won the return game with white pieces to level scores.
But in the 10-minute games, Harika again lost the first game with black on Sunday.