ISLAMABAD, Jan 18: The inaugural Coca Cola bridge championship commences on Jan 23 at the Islamabad Club, organizers said on Sunday.

The three-day tournament, carrying a prize purse of Rs 250,000 sets off with the Open Pairs contest, a two-session match-pointed competition on the first day. The following two days will feature the main event and the Open Teams contest.

Bridge pundits refrain from predicting a winner in a two session pairs contest. However, from among the front-runners, the pair of Tahir Abbas-Fehmina Shauq has the international exposure to top the field.

Stiff resistance is expected from Tariq Aziz-Javed Khalid, who excelled in both sessions of the 2003 Worldwide Simultaneous Pairs Bridge contest, and Ziaullah Beg-Hamid Mohyuddin, a leading Karachi circuit pair.

Punters, comprising Tahir Abbas, Fehmina Shauq, Ali Abbas and Hamid Zaman, are the championship favourites for the Open Teams title. The quartet is the winner of the 2003 Balijee International Tournament held recently at Lahore.

Challenge to their supremacy will be headed by Candyland. The national title has eluded this team which will be fielding Muhammad Ismail, Imran Jhaka, Hamid Mohyuddin, Khalid Mohyuddin, Hasan Askari and Ziaullah Beg.

Sherdils, comprising Safdar, Yaqub,Taqi and Asad Iqbal, pose a threat to the field with their bidding system known as the Lahori Three Way Club. The tournament will be conducted by Ihsan Qadir, chief tournament director of the Pakistan Bridge Federation.