Hangzhou, Oct 6 (FN Agency) India won the silver medal in the men’s team event at the Asian Games 2023 bridge tournament here on Friday. The Indian men’s bridge team comprised Jaggy Shivdasani, Sandeep Thakral, Rajeshwar Tiwari, Sumit Mukherjee, Raju Tolani and Ajay Prabhakar Khare. Competing at the Hangzhou Qi-Yuan Chess Hall, the team settled for silver after scoring 152 in the final against Hong Kong China across six sessions. Rajeshwar Tiwari, Sumit Mukherjee, Raju Tolani and Ajay Prabhakar Khare were in the start list for the final session on Friday. The Indians outwitted Hong Kong China 30-28 in the third session on Thursday but the rest of the five sessions belonged to the eventual gold medallists. ► Cont. to Page-2
Hong Kong China scored a total of 229.1 points from their 96 boards to ascend the top podium. Sumit Mukherjee, Jaggy Shivdasani and Rajeswar Tiwari were also part of the squad that bagged the men’s team bronze when bridge made its debut at the Asian Games in 2018. The Indian men’s team finished second in the league stage with 278.93 after 266 boards. Hong Kong, China scored a total of 304.16 and claimed the pole position, Olympics.com reported. A total of 11 nations took part in the men’s bridge at the Asian Games. China (272.06) and Chinese Taipei (229.17) completed the semi-final line-up. The Indian men’s bridge team played China in the semi-finals and topped the chart after 96 boards with 180.6 points. China ended with 75 points. India’s mixed team and women’s team failed to make the semi-finals and crashed out after the league stages of the bridge competition. India’s bridge team had picked up three medals at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta. India won the gold medal in the men’s pair, while the men’s and the mixed teams earned the bronze medals in their respective categories. UNI BDN SSP