Formidables do it again! 4th straight title sealed in thrilling final showdown
India’s leading bridge team, Formidables, clinched the team title at the All India Shree Cement Bridge Championship for the fourth consecutive time, edging past a spirited Team Monica Jajoo in a closely fought final at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in New Town on Sunday.
The winning team comprised Sumit Mukherjee, Kaustabh Nandi, Rajeshwar Tiwari, Kaustabh Milind Bendre, Sayantan Kushari and Sagnik Roy.
Formidables scored a total of 88.5 International Match Points (IMPs) in the title clash to secure the championship and a winners’ purse of ₹1,80,000. Team Monica Jajoo finished with 78 IMPs to take home ₹1,20,000 as runners-up.
In the MP Pairs event, the duo of Aloke Kumar Sadhu emerged champions with 730.8 Match Points (MPs), while Samir Basak and Sandip Datta finished second with 699.7 MPs.
The final began on a strong note for Team Monica Jajoo, who raced to a 20-IMP lead (34–14). However, Formidables responded like true champions, dominating the next three rounds with scores of 18, 23 and 24 IMPs against their opponents’ 10, 14 and 20.
Formidables eventually sealed the title with the addition of 9.5 carryover IMPs earned during the Swiss League stage, which were added to their four-round final tally.
Earlier in the semifinals, Formidables delivered a commanding performance, thrashing Mavericks by a massive 114 IMPs (160–46) while leading in three of the four rounds. This also earned them 9.5 carryover points heading into the final.
In the other semifinal, Team Monica Jajoo had to dig deep to overcome Deepadhaar by 16 IMPs (116–100). Deepadhaar had held a 10-IMP lead (73–63) at the end of the third round, but Team Monica Jajoo staged a remarkable comeback in the final round, scoring 43 IMPs against Deepadhaar’s 17 to book their place in the final.
(Reporting by Manik Banerjee)
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