Asia Cup Bridge Championships: India finish with 4 medals
Panaji, June 28
Host nation India concluded its campaign at the 5th Bonus Asia Cup Bridge Championships, recognised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and supported by the Sports Authority of India, with an impressive haul of three Silver medals and one Bronze, underlining the country's strong performance across both the team and matchpoint finals. The standout performance came from the India B Seniors team, which topped the league stage before scripting one of the tournament's most memorable victories--a dramatic 126-125 semifinal win over Japan--to book a place in the Gold Medal Final. The team eventually settled for Silver after a hard-fought championship clash against Australia. The India B Seniors squad -- Sukamal Das, Hemant Jalan, Jitendra Solani, Anil Padhye, Rajesh Dalal and Raju Tolani, guided by Coach and NPC Anal Shah -- delivered a remarkable campaign that saw India remain in contention for the title until the closing stages of the final.
India also celebrated a Bronze medal in the Men's Team Championship, with the India A team finishing on the podium. Further success came in the Matchpoint Finals, where Savleen Thadani and Sadhana Gupta secured Silver in the Women's Pairs, while Subir Majumder and Sujit Kumar Bhattacharjee claimed Silver in the Seniors Pairs.
Gold medals in the Team Championships were shared among Asia's leading bridge nations, with Australia winning the Seniors title, Hong Kong China emerging champions in the Men's event, Indonesia claiming the Women's title, and China securing the Mixed Teams crown. In the Matchpoint Finals, Wei Ho and Sun Wei Lee (Chinese Taipei) won the Men's title, Barbara Travis and Lori Smith (Australia) triumphed in the Women's event, Suk King Chan and Kon Wong (Hong Kong China) claimed the Mixed title, while Younghong Cheng and Wei Wei Tsao (Chinese Taipei) captured the Seniors crown. India also excelled in the HCL Friendship Pairs, an additional event held alongside the championships. Arun Bapat and Ajay Khare emerged champions to win Gold, finishing first with 616.64 points,while Kamna Sharma and Abhijit Pal secured the Bronze medal with 586.82 points, adding further distinction to India's overall campaign.
India's campaign was marked by resilience, consistency and depth, highlighted by the Seniors' inspiring run to the final and medal-winning performances across multiple disciplines. With three Silver medals and one Bronze, plus Gold and Bronze in the Friendship Pairs, the host nation reinforced its growing stature among Asia's leading bridge-playing nations. The Awards Night in Panaji celebrated champions from across Asia, bringing to a close a thrilling week of world-class bridge competition.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Proud of our athletes! Bronze in Men's Team and Silvers in Women's and Seniors Pairs shows our depth. But we can't just be happy with silvers—we need to aim for gold next time. China and Australia are setting the bar, and we need to match them. Slightly disappointed we didn't get a single gold in the main events.
Honestly, I didn't even know bridge was this competitive at the international level. Great to see India's flag flying high in such a niche sport. More funding and coaching can take us further. The Friendship Pairs gold by Bapat and Khare shows we can win when we put our minds to it. Well done, team!
The seniors team really stole the show—topping the league and then pulling off that thriller against Japan in the semis is proper resilience. Silver is brilliant, but I hope the medals keep coming for our bridge players. The game needs more attention, especially from the youth. Arre yaar, it's not just an old uncle's game! 😄
Heartening to see such depth in Indian bridge. Three silvers and a bronze is a strong showing, but a small criticism: our players need to improve in the knockout pressure situations, especially in the finals. That said, congratulations to all medalists—especially the women's pair Savleen and Sadhana! Keep it up. 👏
Brilliant performance from the host nation! India is showing it's not just about cricket—we have talented athletes in mind sports too. The fact that we won medals across seniors, men's,
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.