‘Confident’ Nagpur VI hope for a good show

 

 

 

A CONFIDENT Nagpur VI team will look to starting their campaign on a positive note in the All India Open National Ranking Bridge Tournament that gets underway at the Institution of Engineers, Nagpur on Thursday. The prestigious national event is being hosted for the first time by Vidarbha Bridge Association. Nagpur VI created history by becoming the first-ever team from the city to win an international bridge event when they triumphed at HCL International Bridge Championship in New Delhi last year. “We are very confident and will try to go the full distance in this tournament also,” said a confident Anilkumar Mohota, one of the five team members ahead of the tournament. Other members of the history-making team are S Chhajed, M Mor, A Puranik and S Roy. The four-day event will witness participation of around 40 teams from all over India. Top ranked players of India have already confirmed their participation. Ten teams from Nagpur are participating in this mega event.

 

Another title contenders are Playwell, consisting of father and son duo of Raja and Amit Rewatkar and Kumra brothers Neeraj and Sanjeev, and Team Vidarbha that includes senior players V Puranik, R Deshpande, M Luley, M Dutta and R Saboo. The tournament will be played in various formats. League matches to be played in 8 rounds of 10 boards each, 16 teams will qualify for pre-quarterfinals in knock-out stage. Organising committee is headed by Anil Goenka. Others members include S Hastak, Amit Rewatkar, Anilkumar Mohota and M Diwan. Technical conduct of the event will be handled by qualified directors from Bridge Federation of India.