Contrary to the earlier reports that the Indian Bridge Players who were in Lahore were to return to India in the lieu of worsening of the law-and-order situation in Pakistan following the arrest of Imran Khan, the Indian contingent will stay there till the tournament is duly finished.
Setanu Behuria, the president of the Bridge Federation of India, said, “Our team is safe there and the tournament is on and they are doing pretty well. I have instructed them not to step out of the hotel for any reason and the group leaders are taking care of everything. They are not coming back to India at all. They will come only after the tournament ends.”
The Army was deployed in the Punjab region of Pakistan to maintain law and order after Imran Khan was arrested on May 9, 2023.
The thirty-member Indian Bridge Contingent included the Asian Games Gold Medallist Pranab Bardhan, who won the men’s pair event in the 2018 Jakarta Games with his partner Shibnath Sarkar.
The Arjuna Awardee was the favourite to win the event in the 2023 BFAME Championship (Bridge Federation of Asia and Middle East). They also enjoyed the trip to different places in Lahore, which was arranged by the Pakistan Bridge Federation (PBF).
Earlier, the team praised Pakistanis for their hospitality and said they enjoyed the trip. They also highlighted that there was nothing like pressure or rivalry, because their stay in Pakistan felt like they were in their own country.
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