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It was day of upsets and drama at the 3rd Commonwealth bridge event in Ghaziabad as the players reached the final round of the qualifying round robin. While overnight leaders Australia, the in- form team Hemant Jalan and steady India 1, looked certain to qualify for the semis, the India 2 also looked relatively well placed to grab the 4th qualifying spot, as this team was ahead of its nearest rival Scotland and Sunil Machar by 11 VP's (Victory points) .
India 2 who were widely expected to make it to the semi-finals crashed out after a shock defeat to Malaysia. In one of the highlights of the day, 78-year-old Dr Lim Wah playing for Malaysia, expertly brought home a small slam contract of 6NT by executing what is known as a 'double squeeze' in bridge parlance. This hit the Indians hard and they lost the match 12-18. The Malaysian team was playing with a total of just four players-the minimum possible and after several rounds of playing without replacements were clearly tired. "I was losing and regaining focus from time to time in the game. Luckily I came around in time and spotted an opportunity and could make the most of it," said an elated Dr Wah, who was grinning like a schoolboy at the end of his match. "We may be out of the tournament but at least we showed we are not here to make up the numbers," said Dr Wah who was playing his first international tournament in India. Wah had earlier played in the capital's circuit when he was posted with the WHO more than fifteen years ago. "Friendly matches, not so competitive," he recalled with a smile.
In another match , Scotland was playing Wales and the Scots needed a big win to make it to the last four stage. Welshman Peter Goodman was in an agreesive 7H contract . He got a favourable lead into his AJ of diamonds . However , trump was 4-1 with jxxx in one hand and Peter played this suit the losing by a huge margin in what proved to be a decisive swing for Scotsmen. Sunil Machar too won 23-7 against England but they too fell 2 VPs short of the target to enter the semi-finals. Scotland scored 389 VPs while India 2 and Machar finished at 387 VPs .
As per the rules of the contest, 2 teams of same country have to play the semis in order to prevent two teams from the same country going into the finals. As a result , Jalan and India 1 have to face off in semis while other semis will be between Australia and Scotland.
Final standing ( top 10 positions ) :Australia ( 431 ) , Hemant Jalan ( 420 ) , India 1 ( 401 ) , Scotland ( 389 ) , India 2 ( 387 ) , Sunil Machar ( 387 ) , Promila Saraf ( 372 ) , England ( 363 ) , Wales ( 360) , Chairman's team ( 355 )
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