KARACHI, May 2: Last year’s runners-up Pakistan emerged on top after eight round robin league matches in the Bridge Federation of Asia and Middle East (BFAME) championships in Dhaka, Bangladesh, according to information received on Monday. With two more league matches left, Pakistan is leading the five-nation contest with 144 Victory Points (VPs). Jordan is placed second with 128 VPs and India third with 126 VPs.

In all, Pakistan lost two and won the other six matches. They beat Sri Lanka 18-12, Bangladesh 22-8 and India 17-13 but lost to Jordan 10-20. They also outplayed Bangladesh 24-6, recorded a 19-11 victory over Sri Lanka and registered an exciting 16-14 victory over holders India in their last league match.

Hosts Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the other participating teams. Earlier on Sunday, Jordan had made to the top with 95 VPs with Pakistan close at their heels at the second spot.

Indians lead the Women championship after mustering handsome 175 VPs followed by Pakistan (137 VPs) at the second spot. In local matches, IV-Bidders won the Swiss Movement contest. IV-Bidders’ Saeed Ansari, Humayun, Tariq Zafar and Ameer Hussain collected 92 VPs to grab the title. They won four of the five matches. Sprinters secured second spot with 89 VPs and EFU third with 86 VPs.—APP