When Shashi Tharoor Met Youngest Bridge Championship Winner Anshul Bhatt

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor recently met 13-year-old bridge player Anshul Bhatt at Mumbai airport. The Thiruvananthapuram MP shared a picture with Anshul on Twitter.

In the photo, the two can be seen smiling and posing for the camera. “What a delight to run into 13-year-old Anshul Bhatt at Mumbai airport. This bridge prodigy will go places. Make us proud, Anshul,” Mr Tharoor wrote.

Anshul Bhatt, who is from Mumbai, scripted history on August 10 when he won the under-16 World Youth Transnational Bridge Championships in Salsomaggiore, Italy. The prodigy became the youngest winner of the championship. He bagged a total of three gold medals, including one for overall performance.

Before this, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates also gave a shout-out to Anshul Bhatt. Along with a picture of the young sensation, Mr Gates wrote, “Very fun to learn more about the new youth world champion in my favourite pastime. Here's a belated congratulations, Anshul Bhatt.”

Anshul Bhatt competed with his four-member team at the championship which included Darwin Li from Canada and two Estonian players – Albert Pedmanson and Jasper Vahk. The championship was held from August 7 to August 14. Earlier, Anshul had won in Lyon in 2017 and Opatija (Croatia) in 2019. 

The card game involves four players who are divided into two opposing pairs. The pairs play with a deck of 52 cards and first bid against one another in an auction to fix a contract. Following this, one pair-the declarer and dummy-tries to full fill the contract while the other pair, which is the defenders, oppose that.