Vidhya Patel & Kalpana Gurjar win women's pairs title in Winter National Bridge Championship
Kolkata, Dec 2
Vidhya Patel and Kalpana Gurjar from Raibidpura village in Madhya Pradesh added one more feather to their caps as the duo bagged the Amla Ruia Women Pairs title on the second day of the 67th Ashok Ruia Memorial Winter National Bridge Championship at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in Kolkata on Tuesday.
Vidhya and Kalpana, who earlier won the National Ladies Pairs Event in Chennai earlier this year, collected 57.42 International Match Points (IMPs) and were hotly challenged by Rekha Mody and Vandana Tooslidas, who amassed 56 IMPs to remain content with runners-up position.
Sangeeta Mohta and Barsha Khattry finished third, collecting 26.89 IMPs.
With this victory, the 25-year-old Vidya justified her selection for the 'Best Junior Girl Player in 2025' award, which will be presented by the Bridge Federation of India later during this championship.
Kamna Sharma & Richa Sriram and Vasanti Shah & Bharati Dey, who took the first and second spot at the end of the qualifying rounds on Monday, failed to live up to the expectation and ended 6th and 5th with -3 IMPs and 16.68 IMPs respectively at the end of the final round on Tuesday.
On the other hand, the pair of young Vidya-Kalpana and veterans Rekha-Vandana duo, who finished 5th and 12th positions respectively, at the end of the qualifying round last evening, rose to the occasion to emerge champions and runners-up respectively after a see-saw battle.
The competition will continue with the Team of Four event in the National Bridge Championship.
The first Winter National Championship was held in 1959 in Bombay with the Ruia Trophy and Holkar Open Pairs.
The Ruia Trophy, considered a symbol of bridge supremacy in India, started in 1959 in memory of Late Shri Ram Niwas Ruia. It is a running trophy given to the Team of Four champions in the Winter National Bridge Championship. The winner and runners-up get an entry to the Indian Selection Trials. Since 2005, the trophy has been called the Ruia Gold Trophy. Nowadays, two events for Team of Four are held simultaneously, with an additional trophy - the Ruia Silver Trophy.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Amazing comeback story! From 5th in qualifiers to champions. That's real mental strength. Bridge is such an underrated mind sport in India. Needs more coverage like this.
Fascinating to read about the history of the Ruia Trophy going back to 1959. It's great that traditional sports like bridge have such a legacy in India. The margin of victory was razor thin – just 1.42 IMPs! Incredibly close final.
While it's wonderful to see these achievements, I wish the media gave even 10% of this coverage to sports like bridge, chess, or shooting compared to cricket. Our athletes work just as hard. Respect to all the women who competed.
Vidhya is only 25 and already getting the 'Best Junior Girl Player' award for 2025! That's planning ahead. Wishing her and Kalpana all the best for the Team of Four event. Make MP proud! 💪
The article mentions the qualifiers leaders faltering in the finals. That's the pressure of knockout stages for you. Hats off to the veterans Rekha and Vandana too for putting up a great fight. The see-saw battle must have been thrilling to watch.
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