With some players in their 70s and opponents young enough to be their grandchildren, age is just a number for bridge competitors engaged in a battle of wits at the Asian Games.
Masood Mazhar was born in the final months of World War II and before the partition of India and Pakistan, while Taiwan’s Chen Kuan-hsuan is just 23.
“My father used to play so I’ve been playing all my life,” said the 78-year-old Mazhar, competing for Pakistan.
Photo: AFP
People have enjoyed variations of bridge for centuries, but the tactical card game is a relatively new discipline at the Asian Games, only becoming a medal event in 2018.
Players sit in fours at square tables, working in pairs to win as many “tricks” as they can in each round.
After all these decades, the game never gets old for Mazhar, who said he began entering competitions in the mid-1980s.
“You learn every day. Every board, you learn, you never get the same thing again ever,” he said, referring to the hands of cards players get dealt each game. “Everything is new every time — it’s an adventure.”
Bridge is usually associated with older generations and the majority of players at the Games are older than 40.
Chen wants to change all that.
She played with her university’s bridge club and at youth tournaments before graduating into the World Team Championships and now the Asian Games.
“I seek self-fulfillment through bridge competitions,” she said.
She said that bridge players must “maintain good relations with your teammates and partner ... and use logic and inference to complete each move and each calculation” — a challenge she loves.
“I hope that by competing I can draw the attention of more young people, not just the ones who already play bridge,” she said.
Mazhar said the problem is that young people simply do not have time to get into bridge these days.
“If you really want to play good bridge, you have to give a lot of time, and that means you have to practice at least three to four hours a day,” he said.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani on Monday wobbled through a 28-pitch first inning at home against the San Diego Padres in his first appearance on the mound since August 2023. Scheduled to throw as many as two innings, Ohtani went a single frame while allowing one run on two hits. He did not issue a walk nor strike out a batter. “Not quite happy with the results overall, but the takeaway for me is that I feel good enough to be able to make the next outing,” Ohtani said of his pitching performance. Ohtani still wound up with a positive impact
RSS