HANGZHOU – It was heartbreak for Singapore’s contract bridge mixed team at the Asian Games after a controversial second day of the semi-finals saw them lose out on a spot in the final to China.
Trailing 136-106.77 after Tuesday’s first three sets, the Republic appeared to have mounted an unlikely comeback on Wednesday.
In fact, by the end of the sixth and final set at the Hangzhou Qi-Yuan (Zhili) Chess Hall, the sextet of Tan Sock Ngin, Gideon Tan, Seet Choon Cheng, Lam Ze Ying, Loo Choon Chou and Luo Cheng had turned the contest around and led 225.77-225.
They looked set to advance to the final but a late ruling was made against Singapore, for hesitation in bidding in the sixth set, and the final score was adjusted 231-225.77 in favour of the Chinese.
Singapore immediately lodged two appeals which led to a one-hour delay.
One was regarding the sixth-set decision while the second centred on a slow-play penalty in set 5 and a subsequent six-point deduction for China, which was later reversed and the points reinstated.
Both appeals were eventually rejected, meaning Singapore finished with a joint-bronze while China will face Chinese Taipei in the final that takes place on Thursday and Friday.
Most of the team had headed back to their hotel to await the verdict but Singapore Contract Bridge Association president Kelvin Ong and player Lam remained at the venue.
Looking visibly disappointed, Ong said he felt “upset” and “aggrieved” by the outcome.
Lam added: “Usually justice should prevail, but in this case it wasn’t. For me, it’s definitely always a learning experience to improve our game.
“Honestly, if we had played better, then we wouldn’t have faced this narrow gap. It’s always because the gap is very narrow then all these little penalties and things will come into play.
“But bridge is always a game of mistakes – you make fewer mistakes, you will have a better score. We said we were the underdogs and for us, the lesson here is to sharpen our axe and skills, and to play better the next time.”
The women’s team of Jazlene Ong, Lim Jing Xuan, Li Lan, Low Siok Hui, Selene Tan and Leong Jia Min also could not get past China to reach the final, losing their semi-final 303-133.1 and settling for the joint-bronze.
Selene Tan was proud of how the team bounced back from a disappointing performance in the first stage of the round robin to put up a stronger showing in the second round and seal their spot in the semi-finals.
While it was not easy coming up against China, she said: “We took it as a learning experience because we’re all not professionals and part of improving in the game is being exposed to good players from the region and this was an excellent opportunity for the team as a whole to improve.”
Association chief Ong was satisfied with the squad’s overall performance. Besides the two bronze medals, the men’s team finished fifth. At the 2018 Games in Jakarta, Singapore had clinched the men’s team gold.
He said: “It’s a very good outing. Of course, we were disappointed that we finished with only two bronzes... but it still shows to this part of the world that we are improving.
“If China were the pre-tournament favourites, we definitely held our own against them. The fact that it was anybody’s game all the way to the last board speaks volumes about our players.”
