Report: Indian Bridge team 'safe' in Pakistan, to return after tournament ends on May 13

A 30-member contingent has travelled to participate in the 22nd BFAME Championships.

Amid reports that the Indian Bridge team, which travelled to Pakistan to participate in the 22nd Bridge Federation of Asia and Middle East (BFAME) Championship, has been asked to return due to unrest in the country, the Bridge Federation of India's officials have assured that the tram will remain in Pakistan and compete in the tournament.

A 30-member Indian contingent has travelled to Pakistan to take part in the 22nd BFAME Championship alongside participants from Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bangladesh. The Championship started on May 9 and will continue until May 13.

On Wednesday (May 10), reports emerged that the Indian High Commission in Pakistan has asked the Indian Bridge team to immediately return to India amidst unrest in Pakistan sparked by the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on May 09 by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case.

However, several officials from the Bridge Federation of India as well as the captain Ranjan Bhattacharya, who is currently in Pakistan with the squad, shushed down the reports as fake news. In a social media video shared by the Pakistan Bridge Federation, the Indian skipper can be heard saying "The news is fake, and there are no plans for an early return. The Indian team is winning and we will return together. The Indian team is performing well. We are winning and we will qualify in all the four categories."

Another Indian official-cum-player Jaggy Shivdasani was also quoted by the Hindustan Times saying, "We will finish the tournament on Saturday and leave on Sunday morning. We are told we will have armed personnel escorting us when we leave for the Lahore-Amritsar border." Shivdasani was part of the Indian squad that won a bronze medal in men's team event at the 2018 Asian Games. He has also been named in the squad for the forthcoming Asian Games 2022 in Huangzhou.

India are currently on top in all four events in the Championship.