UAE, Jordan qualify for Bermuda Bowl World Championship

KARACHI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan qualified for the 42nd Bermuda Bowl World Championship 2015 by virtue of being the finalists of the open event in the 18th Asia and Middle East Bridge Championships, which concluded on Wednesday evening in Amman.
Pakistan booked their ticket for Chennai, India, by winning the seniors and women events in the zonal event held in the Jordanian capital.
They will be participating in the 8th d’Orsi Seniors Trophy and the 20th Venice Cup, respectively, to be held along with the 42nd Bermuda Bowl and the 10th Transnational Teams Championships from September 26 to October 15.
Pakistan’s seniors, comprising Azhar Hamid, Iftikhar Baqai, Mirza Shauq Hussain, Zakir Mahmood, Masood Mazhar and Kamran Ibrahim, won the zonal trophy by overpowering Sri Lanka 95-70.5 in the final.
Pakistan women, featuring Rubina Agha, Zeenat Azwer, Qudsia Dossa, Roshan Bokhari, Rubina Hai and Fatima Reza, fought back gallantly against India to win the final 80-79 which allowed them to retain the title they had annexed a couple of years ago.
Pakistan’s open team, having Jawed Niaz, Mohammad Shafiq Janjua, Khawar Ansari, Masroor Ansari, Col Kashif Ali Qureshi and Maj Faisal Mahmood, failed to reach the knockout phase.
UAE, comprising Ahmad Monir, Ravishankar Sadashiv, Humayun Sumar, Tamer Mahmoud, Emad El Shorbagy and Khalid Hassan, emerged victorious in the final of the open event against hosts Jordan, who had fielded Marwan Ghanem, Rana Abdul Hadi, Sireen Barakat, Jamal Abdul Jalil, Jawan Hallasa and Iskandar Imasaih.
In the semi-finals, the UAE had blown the whistle on Bangladesh, while Jordan struggled before overcoming Bahrain in a tense encounter.
The qualification of the UAE and Jordan in the final meant that for the first time a couple of teams from the Zone 4 of the World Bridge Federation (WBF) will be entering the Bermuda Bowl.
The 18th edition of the Asia and Middle East Bridge Championships, also known as the BFAME Zonal Championships, spread over eight days, was organised by the Jordan Bridge Federation (JBF) at the Bristol Hotel in Amman.
In his farewell message, the BFAME Secretary, Azwer-ul-Haq from Pakistan, expressed his satisfaction with the arrangements made for the event. He thanked JBF for its hospitality, saying it truly lived up to the expectations. “We hope to see you all in Dubai for the 19th BFAME Championships in 2017,” he said.