Panaji: India Senior “B” produced a remarkable comeback to defeat Japan by just two International Match Points (IMPs) and enter the final of the 5th Asia Cup Bridge Championship at Dona Paula on Friday.
India made a poor start to the semifinal, managing only 22 IMPs against Japan’s 66 in the opening round. The hosts responded strongly in the second round, narrowing the deficit by scoring 41 IMPs to Japan’s 24 before producing another spirited display in the decisive third round. India collected 56 IMPs while restricting Japan to 39 to snatch victory by a slender two-IMP margin and book a place in the title clash.
India Senior “B” will now take on Australia in the final after the latter outclassed Bangladesh 170-67 IMPs, leading in all three rounds of the other semifinal.
In the men’s section, India “A” bowed out after suffering a 129-80.67 IMP defeat to Hong Kong China “A”. The Indian women’s team also exited the title race after going down 159-77.33 IMPs to Indonesia in the semifinal.
While India are assured of at least a silver medal in the Seniors event, the hosts remain in contention for bronze medals in the men’s and women’s sections, where they will face Bangladesh and Japan respectively in the third-place playoffs on Saturday.
