Fatima, Rubina lead in Balijee Bridge C’ship

LAHORE: The 15th Balijee International Bridge Championship had a thinking start on Thursday with 96 of Pakistan’s finest bridge players occupying the bridge tables of Lahore Gymkhana.

The first day was reserved for the pairs’ event, which is like the Twenty20 cricket. At the end of the first session and 24 boards, after some living and breathing moves, Fatima Raza (Karachi) and Rubina Agha (Lahore) were in front.

Tahira Nasir declared the Balijee bridge open at 10am on the Pakistan Day. On the tables were international players of significance like Khurshid Hadi, Kemal Shoaib, Hasan Askari, Parvez Mirza, Gulzar Ahmed, Tehsin Gheewala. There were also Sapan Desai from India and Imran Abedi from Kuwait.

Fatima and Rubina had an aggregate of 67.75 points at the end of the first session of 24 boards. Just a little behind were Ghalib Bandesha and Maj Asad Maqbool (Lahore) with 63.74 points.

The third were Javed Khalid and Saeed of Islamabad with a score of 63.31 points. Other pairs ahead in the race are Tahir Abbas and Oosman Bashir at 61.47 points; Sheikh Abdul Muqeet and Wajahat Ali Suri at 61.36 points; Air Cmdr (retd) Qamar S. Kiani and AVM (retd) Niaz Hussain at 59.09 points.

Abida Ali and Najam Abid had 57.90 points, Mazhar Jaffery and Maqbool Ahmed 55.52 points, and Izzat Khalil and Safdar Khan 55.30. With two more sessions to go there is every likelihood of a change in the leader board. The Balijee Championship is held in the memory of Sheikh Muhammad Iqbal, affectionately known as Balijee.