Walking into the venue for WYTC 2024 was simply overwhelming. I was quite aware of my surroundings, where I was, and what I had come here to do. The only thing that kept me grounded was my partner's hand squeezing mine as a kind of reassurance that I knew what I was doing. Entering the hall to play the next morning was surreal. I couldn't fully process the sheer number of people my age playing against me. Before I knew it, I was sitting opposite my partner, with a wooden screen blocking me from looking at her. Every board we played, and every pair we played against required us to revise and change our strategy, which only made the game become more mentally intense. We may have not been on the podium in pairs or teams, but what really stood out was that we qualified for the finals- in our first youth pairs event. I think as if looking back, if I changed a certain bid, or changed a play, we would have placed higher, but the truth is- we did the best we could, and sometimes it just doesn't make sense to dwell on the "could haves" and "should haves", and rather focus on what we did well, and next time, what we can do better.

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I feel like this experience has had its ups and downs, with tensions sometimes rising in our team, however, I'm still grateful for the support they gave me, and the help of my family, friends, mentors, and most importantly, the reassurance of my partner. This experience was truly unforgettable, and I'm so glad that I was able to participate in this event.

The days I spent playing the World Bridge Transnational Youth Championships will always be highly cherished by me as the experience was unparalleled in terms of both learning and culling the best out of bridge . From the adrenaline rush while bidding and making tough contracts, to the joy which we gained by making them, the euphoria when we won against tough opponents to the agony of losing due to oversight , everyday carried a great learning quotient . However, the rich experience I had at the World Youth Bridge Transnational Championship taught me the value of teamwork and strategic planning but the best takeaway was how to rise after a fall and why it is important to stay sagacious and sanguine in the face of both victory and loss.

From now, I aspire to work harder to reach new heights in bridge, following the footsteps of our great captain Anshul Bhatt, who guided us at every step and boosted our morale, encouraging and empowering us all with his incredible talent. 

Going to the WYTC was a unique experience for me and definitely unlike any other I’ve had before.It was so fun and interesting! It gave us many thought provoking and difficult boards.Through this we were able to improve our game and I was able to identify my mistakes and strengthen my weaknesses. My team mates were incredibly helpful and encouraging.We would discuss when something went wrong and would discuss it so we could improve.We had some interesting opponents as well.I noticed that our opponents were far different than us. After difficult boards or wrong decisions they would argue to the point of crying and talk about killing each other. However, in our partnership we moved on from boards as if they didn’t happen so it wouldn’t effect our play. In conclusion , it was an amazing experience and I couldn’t have done it without my team.

Hi here is my paragraph about the experience in the tournament - My experience in the WYTC was tiresome but thrilling and enriching. Me and my partner faced many challenges along the way, some obstacles too difficult to leap over, but we put our 100% and backed each other up to slowly climb the leaderboard. The most exciting part was that every single board we had was different and unique. It wasn’t just a bunch of scrambled cards distributed to 4 people. It was all pre-made, its objective being to make us plan, analyse, think hard, and force us to make the right decisions in the most dire of situations, in order to get a good score. The first few days of the tournament were gruesome. It wasn’t easy for any of us to play for hours every day, but as the tournament days went along, I got used to the pressure and the other half of the tournament became easier. Finally, the 6 days as a whole were exhausting, but the learning and results that came with it were limitless and overall made us better bridge players.

Going to the WYTC for Bridge this year has been one of the most fun and memorable experiences I've ever had, where I got to make so many new friends, including Chinese pen pals.  At first it was nerve wracking to think we'd be playing against much more experienced players, but after the first match I was so excited for what the next days had in store for us. It was fun to play against kids ranging from ages 7 to 15 as they all had different bidding and playing styles. Some of our opponents thought their partners were problematic or ‘had issues’; evening humorously wanting to get a divorce lawyer or fight with each other. I was lucky to have such a supportive partner during the difficult boards and team throughout all the ups and downs of this journey. What I loved about it is that all the boards were unique so that everyday there was a new challenge to overcome, a new problem to solve or an interesting tactic to use. Overall I had a great time playing and it helped further increase my interest and passion for this game.