Indonesia goes into bridge final

JAKARTA (JP): Five pairs of Indonesian players succeeded on Monday in reaching the Open Pair finals of the 16th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Interclub Bridge Championships in the Genting Highlands, Malaysia, the Indonesian Contract Bridge Association (GABSI) announced yesterday.

The five are among the 16 best pairs -- five from Thailand, four from Singapore, and two from Malaysia -- who qualified for the finals out of the 88 pairs who took part in the competition.

Of the five, Hengky Lasut/ Eddy Manoppo, Indonesia's veteran pair who ousted the Netherlands during the recently concluded Bridge Olympic in Albuquerque, United States, and Amran Zamzami/ Sabri, won first place in their groups while the other three finished second.

In the championships, which will last until Friday, defending champion Indonesia is fielding the largest team consisting of 120 players. (arf)