Tolani Bridge next week

There will be no dearth of quality, either. Newly-crowned World Champions Italy will be here in full strength, including the legendary Pietro Forquet, member of the Italian Blue team which won the Bermuda Bowl and World Championship twelve years in a row. Former world champions and Bermuda Bowl winners Poland are also here. Their captain Marek Szymanowski, who is holidaying here prior to the tournaments,said, “The Swedes and the Indonesians will definitely make the tournament competitive. It is great that such a big tournament is taking place in India.”

Then, there are the IOC Grand Prix champions China, bearing the fruits of a comprehensive programme which has seen bridge being introduced as a compulsory subject in schools at the primary level; a programme which Indian players eye with admiration and envy.

Ashok Ruia, president of Mumbai Sports and Bridge Association, which will host the two championships, voiced this when he said, “In India we have the talent but we have no programme at the school or college level to channel this promise.” Ruia hoped the tournaments would generate interest for the sport, and said Indian players would benefit by playing against some of the best teams in the world. Ruia’s team India Blues, which won the Grand Prix last year, and ITC, winners of the Indian National Masters, will lead the Indian challenge.

The Tolani World Invitation Pairs Championship — the firstof its kind in Asia — will feature 16 of the top pairs in the world pitted against an equal number of Indians from January 25-28 at The Retreat, Erangal Beach. The Hackett twins from England, George Mittelman and Fred Gitelman (Canada), PO Sundelin and Magnus Lindkvist (Sweden), and pairs from Indonesia, South Africa, Italy and Poland will vie for honours.

The winning team and pair in each event will receive Rs four lakh each as prize money. While the pair event is being co-hosted by GIC, Switcher are the official clothiers for both tournaments.