LAHORE, March 23: The team event in the 12th Balijee international bridge championship was annexed once again by an Indian team when the Arjun Jain outfit sealed victory for themselves with a tally of 208 points at the Lahore Gymkhana on Sunday.
Winning in the team event for the last four years through the Formidable team, India, retained the trophy for yet another year, although through Arjun Jain this time.
Looking mighty on the final day as the team event concluded after 10 sessions and two-and-half days of hectic play on the activated bridge table at the club, Arjun Jain dominated the scene, leaving behind the local Candyland team that was way ahead of them at the end of the two sessions on Friday and Saturday before going into the final stage.
The Arun Jain team comprising Manas Mukherjee, Subroto Saha, Krishna Kumar, D.K. Tewary, P.C. Gupta and Arun Jain emerged as the most skilful lot during the final sessions on Sunday. They overcame the challenge from Candyland 25-4, Al-Fateh 25-4, and Aces 19-11.
Each move that you make in the final session is important and the winners amidst this total brilliance even left their mighty opponents in the doldrums.
Top Five Teams:
208 points: Arun Jain from India (Manas Mukherjee, Subroto Saha, Krishna Kumar, D.K. Tewary, P.C. Gupta and Arun Jain).
196 points: Inbox from Karachi (A.R. Allana, Sarfraz Khan, Rashid Japer and Imran Dhaka).
170: Blues and Green from India and Pakistan (Subhash Gupta, Venkatraman, Rajesh Dalal, Sunit Choksi, Mohsin Chandna, Tehseen Gheewala).
170: Aces from Lahore (Shoaib Bokhari, Izzat Khalil, Rashid Nabi Malik, Nauman Butt, Omer Aslam and Ghias Malik).
165: Tariq Aces from Islamabad (Javed Khalid, Saeed Akhtar, Uzair Kamal, Umer Aslam, Col. Manzoor).
Other notable teams: Anis V (161 points), Data Steel (160 points), Tigers (160 points), Candyland (158 points) and EFU (158 points).
In the ladies section, The Avengers comprising Najam Abid, Teeta Agha, Neelofar Aslam and Abida Ali lifted the trophy. The Yummy team of Riffi, Tahira, Fehmida and Khalida came second while Islamabad Reds of Farida Ahmad, Goga Saeed, Azra Raja and Akhtar Haq ended up third.
This international event is recognised by World Bridge Federation.