India U31 team wins bronze at World Youth Bridge Championships
Mumbai, Aug 5
India's Under-31 team won the bronze medal in the Teams Event at the 9th World Youth Transnational Bridge Championships in Hefei, China, finishing third in the eight-team final round robin with 82.34 Victory Points.
China's AGOOFANS took gold (89.96 VP) and China U31 the silver (89.47 VP). India secured the medal despite visa delays and last-minute changes to partnerships.
The team - Anshul Bhatt, Sagnik Roy, Sayantan Kushari, Shubham Acharya, Surajit Bar and Vidhya Patel - was captained and coached by Kaustubh Bendre.
Chinese visas for some players didn't arrive in time, forcing changes to the playing combinations. Anshul, who had trained extensively with Shubham Acharya, ended up partnering Kolkata-based national player Sayantan Kushari instead.
Shubham partnered Vidhya Patel, who is from Raibidpura, a Madhya Pradesh village known for producing bridge players. These new pairings held the team together until Sagnik Roy and Surajit Bar arrived from Kolkata in time to reinforce the squad. Because of the unforeseen circumstances, Anshul and Vidhya played six of India's eight qualifying rounds.
India finished seventh in qualifying on August 3 to 4, making the cut for the eight-team final. The final was a round robin on August 5, with each team playing a seven-board match against every other finalist.
On Anshul's selection to the older age group, coach Bendre said: "Anshul has been selected because he has earned his place, not because of his age or reputation. At 17, he already shows the discipline, composure and partnership awareness expected at the U31 level."
Anshul runs a school bridge club and BridgeBlitz boot camps that have produced other India age-group players; a BridgeBlitz-trained team reached the semifinals of the 2025 World Youth Teams Championships.
Outside bridge, he built PawPath, a wearable sensor system that analyses dog gait using machine learning, which won an ISEF Grand Award in Animal Sciences and is being developed into a pet-health platform called Sniff.
— IANS
Reader Comments
What a story! Anshul at just 17 playing in the U31 category and also building a dog health tech platform? That's the kind of multi-talented youth India needs to celebrate more. The bridge ecosystem in small towns like Raibidpura is clearly thriving. 👏
Great achievement, but I wish the government would pay more attention to non-cricket sports. These kids had to deal with visa delays that almost cost them the tournament. Imagine what they could achieve with proper support and timely logistics. Still, hats off to them for pulling through! 🎉
The way Anshul and Vidhya held the fort for six rounds is truly inspiring. It's not just about skill but mental toughness. And his BridgeBlitz initiative is nurturing the next generation—this is how you build a legacy. Well done, team India! 🇮🇳
So proud to see young Indians excelling in mind sports! The fact that a village like Raibidpura is producing bridge players shows that talent is everywhere—it just needs the right platform. Also, Anshul's PawPath project sounds fascinating. What a brilliant mind!
Congratulations to the Indian team! It's refreshing to see such composure under pressure, especially with the visa hiccups. The future of Indian bridge looks bright with young players like Anshul leading the way. This bronze is well-deserved!
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