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Winter Bridge Nationals: Usha Kabra & Gopinath Manna Win Phoenix Mixed Pairs

Usha Kabra and Gopinath Manna emerged victorious in the Phoenix Mixed Pairs event at a major bridge championship in Kolkata. They topped a field of 55 pairs with a strong score of 82.78 International Match Points. Meanwhile, the prestigious team events for the Ashok Ruia Memorial trophies have also kicked off. The tournament continues a long tradition, with the first Winter National Championship being held back in 1959.

Key Points: Usha Kabra Gopinath Manna Win Phoenix Mixed Pairs Bridge Title

  • Usha Kabra and Gopinath Manna won with 82.78 IMPs in a competitive field of 55 pairs
  • Deepa Jacob and Prosenjit Manna secured the runners-up position with 64.34 IMPs
  • The Open Team Event for the prestigious Ashok Ruia Memorial Gold Cup also began
  • Team Mohota leads the Open Team standings after the initial three rounds
2 min read

Winter National Bridge C'ship: Usha Kabra & Gopinath Manna win Phoenix Mixed Pairs title

Usha Kabra and Gopinath Manna clinch the Phoenix Mixed Pairs title at the 67th Winter National Bridge Championship in Kolkata with 82.78 IMPs.

"Usha Kabra & Gopinath Manna produced fine form to win the Phoenix Mixed Pairs title with 82.78 International Match Points (IMPs) - Tournament Report"

Kolkata, Dec 5

Usha Kabra & Gopinath Manna produced fine form to win the Phoenix Mixed Pairs title with 82.78 International Match Points (IMPs) in the ongoing 67th Ashok Ruia Memorial Winter National Bridge Championship being played at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in New Town in Kolkata.

The event saw Deepa Jacob & Prosenjit Manna taking the runners-up position, collecting 64.34 IMPs out of a total of 55 pairs vying for the top honours.

Others among the top ten finishers after the final round are -- Aditi Javeri & Biswajit Poddar in third, Ramani Menon & Jenish Shah fourth, Monica Jajoo & Sumit Mukherjee 5th, Soham Sarkar & Kalpana Gurjar in sixth position, Kamna Sharma & Abhijit Pal in 7th spot, Kiran Nadar & Buchiraju Satyanarayana eighth, Keyzad Anklesaria & Vidhya Patel in ninth, and Madhur (Daisy Singh) & Badal Das in the 10th position.

Meanwhile, the Open Team Event for the Ashok Ruia Memorial Gold Cup, known as the most prestigious team event competition in the country, along with the Silver Cup category for the lesser-ranked players, began on Friday.

Out of the 28 top teams in the fray for the title, Team Mohota, represented by Anurag Mohota, Basant Mohota, Biswajit Poddar, and Sambhunath Ghosh, is leading the field with 56.65 Victory Points (VPs) at the end of the third round.

A total of eight rounds will be held before the 16 top teams qualify for the knock-out stages.

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

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Reader Comments

S
Sarah B
Congratulations to all the winners and participants! It's impressive to see 55 pairs competing. The depth of talent in Indian bridge is clearly growing. The fact that the winners get entry to the Indian Selection Trials adds so much prestige.
P
Priya S
Hearty congratulations to Usha ji and Gopinath ji! 👏 Seeing names like Kiran Nadar and Kalpana Gurjar in the top ten shows how the game cuts across different fields. Hope more young people get inspired to take up bridge.
R
Rohit P
Well covered article, but I wish there was a bit more detail on how the IMP scoring works for readers who are new to bridge. The event sounds grand, hosted at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre. Kolkata is a great host city for such intellectual sports.
M
Michael C
The history behind the Ruia Trophy is fascinating. A symbol of bridge supremacy since 1959! It's wonderful that traditions like these are kept alive and even expanded with the Silver Trophy. Kudos to the organizers.
K
Kavya N
So many familiar names from the circuit! Deepa Jacob and Prosenjit Manna as runners-up is also a big achievement. The competition must have been fierce. Best of luck to all teams in the Open Team Event. Bring the trophy home! 💪

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