The Indian teams, as expected, made their exit, failing to make the cut in any of the three sections as the first phase of the fortnight-long HCL-42nd World bridge championships came to an end at the ITC Hotel Grand Chola here on Saturday.
In the Bermuda Bowl for men, India, which had a slim chance to qualify at the end of the 18th round of the round-robin on Friday, hardly proved to be a match against Canada on Saturday, losing the crucial tie 32-12.
The Indians were never in the picture at any time in the match after conceding 17 IMPs through the two first hands, allowing the Canadians to get away with a 4 club and 3NT bids in the open and closed room in the first board and 4 spades and 1NT in the second.
Out of the running, India thereafter defeated Egypt and Jordan with scores of 51-29 and 49-6 in the remaining two rounds, but this was inconsequential as the side could only finish 12th with a total of 218.69 VPs.
Bulgaria tops tableBulgaria, into the lead since last night, topped the table with 277.74 and was followed by China (274.90), Poland (267.87), England (267.18), France (256.68), USA1 (243.67), USA2 (236.56) and Sweden (225.18) at the end of the intense competition.
The story was no different in the seniors section — for the d’Orsi Trophy — as the hosts could finish only 11th with a total of 224.95.
Any slim chance of making it to the last-eight vanished completely at the end of the first round this morning, when India was mauled by England 68-5 so much so that the results of the next two rounds had no bearing.
For the record, the home team won a hard-fought 54-52 win over Egypt before losing to Norway (31-16) in the concluding round
USA1 came out on top in this section with a total of 298.89 ahead of Australia (286.26). Ireland (280.95), Poland (273.84), England (259.93), USA2 (255.12), Norway (253.27) and Sweden (250.41) were the other teams to make the grade.
There was some cheer for India in the Venice Cup for women as the team ended its winless drought with victories over Chinese Taipei (52-28) and Pakistan (43-33) over two rounds of play.
However, it was to suffer another heart-break as it lost to Guadeloupe (56-36) in the other round of the day.
This improved showing, however, was not enough as India finished in the last and 22nd spot in the section which eventually saw Denmark (304.11), USA2 (288.63), USA1 (281.05), Italy (278.87), England (277.73), China (274.12), the Netherlands (274.09) and France (266.55) make the knockout round.
Besides the two-day quarterfinals, Sunday will also witness the start of the Trans-National event for the Dastur Trophy.
The rankings (after 21 rounds):
Men: 1. Bulgaria (277.74), 2. China (274.90), 3. Poland (267.87), 4. England (267.18), 5. France (256.18), 6. USA1 (243.67), 7. USA2 (236.56), 8. Sweden (225.18); 12. India (218.69).
Seniors: 1. USA1 (298.89), 2. Australia (286.26), 3. Ireland (280.95), 4. Poland (273.84), 5. England (259.93), 6. USA2 (255.12), 7. Norway (253.27), 8. Sweden (250.41); 11. India (224.95).
Women: 1. Denmark (304.11), 2. USA2 (288.63), 3. USA1 (281.05), 4. Italy (278.87), 5. England (277.73), 6. China (274.12), 7. The Netherlands (274.09), 8. France (266.55); 22. India (91.31).
