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Anshul Bhatt is a 15-year-old bridge player from Mumbai, India. He is the youngest winner of all three Gold Medals in Under-16 Pairs, Teams, and Overall Performance at the 7th World Youth Transnational Bridge Championships held in Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy, 2022. Later that year, he was selected as the Personality of the Year by International Bridge Press Association.
Anshul is a regular participant in various open category local, national, and international tournaments. He won the Junior National Bridge Championships (U-26) in Mysore, India, in August 2018, and the Junior National Bridge Championship (U-21) in December 2021. Anshul is the youngest player to have represented India at a World Event and was the youngest participant at the 5th World Youth Bridge Championships in Lyon, France, in August 2017. He was chosen as the flag bearer for the oath-taking to open the Championship and also won the prestigious Joan Gerard Award there.
His TEDx talk garnered significant interest in the game of Bridge. Anshul started a Bridge club in his school in 2022. He has created a platform “BridgeBlitz” to attract more young talent to the game of bridge and he aspires to create a future junior team for India.
Personal Life[edit]
Anshul Bhatt was born in 2008 in Mumbai, India. He studies at Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai, India.
Other than bridge, Anshul is an avid squash player, and attended a camp where he was trained by Ritwik Bhattacharya. His article "Squash, Serenity and Self-Realisation"[1] was published on News18.
Bridge Life and Achievements[edit]
Anshul Bhatt started playing Bridge at the age of six and a half years. He played his first tournament at Indian Gymkhana in Mumbai at the age of 7. He was the youngest to represent India at the age of 8 at any World Youth Bridge Championships in Lyon, France. At the event, he was also the youngest recipient of Joan Gerard Award[2] in the U-16 category.
At the age of 12, he delivered a TED talk at Shoolini University titled "Bridge - A Game for life[3]" in 2021.
Youngest World Champion to win all 3 Gold Medals in Under-16 – Pairs, Teams (Captain), Overall Performance[edit]
Anshul Bhatt won THREE GOLD MEDALS – Pairs[4], Teams (as Captain) and Overall Performance – for India at the Under-16 World Bridge Transnational Youth Championships in August 2022 at the 7th World Youth Transnational Bridge Championships held in Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy by the World Bridge Federation[5].
Anshul Bhatt was trained by Eric Kokish, who passed away in 2023 (Anshul Bhatt's obituary for Eric Kokish - Convincing and Complete) and Keyzad Anklesaria from India.
Personality of the Year Award[edit]
In December 2022, Anshul Bhatt joined a group of famous individuals like Bob Hamman, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and others to be selected as the 2022 - Personality of the Year by International Bridge Press Association
Recognition[edit]
Bill Gates[edit]
In 2022, Bill Gates - referring to the Hindustan Times article - "Meet Anshul Bhatt a Bridge Whiz and World Champion at 13"[6] - posted on Linkedin[7] and Twitter. In 2023, on a visit to India, Bill Gates met with Anshul Bhatt and posted on Instagram. Gates wrote, "It was fun meeting Anshul and picking his brain about our favorite pastime. Anshul, if you’re ever looking for a new bridge partner, I’m your guy!". He also posted on Gatesnotes, Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook.
Times of India, a leading Indian newspaper did a front page story on Anshul Bhatt "Meet the 14-year old who Bill Gates wants to partner with[8]"
Bob Hamman[edit]
Bob Hamman[9] - Bob Hamman, arguably the Greatest Bridge Player ever who partners Anshul said "Thank god my opponents are not as tough as Anshul[10]"
Sachin Tendulkar[edit]
Sachin Tendulkar had a conversation[11] with Anshul Bhatt before the World Championships talking about handling pressure and playing competitive sports. He also met with Bhatt after the Gold medals, which was covered in The Hindu article - Anshul Bhatt - The Bright Star of Indian Bridge[12]. Bhatt also spoke about his meeting with Tendulkar in a TV interview on CNN-IBN "Anshul Bhatt Crowned World's Youngest Bridge Champion[13]"
Kiran Nadar[edit]
Kiran Nadar an avid Bridge player, champion and patron of Bridge. She wrote about Anshul Bhatt in her Forbes article "Bridge-ing Generations: From old-gen pastime to a recognised sport[14]"
- ^ "Squash, Serenity, and Self-Realisation". News18. 2024-04-04. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
- ^ "The Joan Gerard Youth Awards | World Bridge Federation". Retrieved 2024-05-19.
- ^ TEDx Talks (2021-06-01). Bridge: A Game for Life | Anshul Bhatt | TEDxShooliniUniversity. Retrieved 2024-05-19 – via YouTube.
- ^ Lema, Fernando (2022-08-11). "Anshul Bhatt becomes World Champion". Youth World Bridge. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
- ^ "World Bridge Federation". Retrieved 2024-05-19.
- ^ "Meet Anshul Bhatt, bridge whiz and world champion at 13". Hindustan Times. 2022-09-01. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
- ^ "Bill Gates on LinkedIn: Meet Anshul Bhatt, bridge whiz and world champion at 13 | 147 comments". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
- ^ "Meet the 14-year-old who Bill Gates wants as his bridge partner". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
- ^ "Bob Hamman", Wikipedia, 2024-05-16, retrieved 2024-05-19
- ^ "Anshul Bhatt Wins Triple Gold at U-16 World Youth Bridge Championships". News18. 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
- ^ Judge, Shahid (2022-08-24). "Bridge: When Sachin Tendulkar's phone calls spurred Anshul Bhatt to three gold medals at U16 Worlds". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
- ^ Judge, Shahid (2022-08-24). "Bridge: When Sachin Tendulkar's phone calls spurred Anshul Bhatt to three gold medals at U16 Worlds". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
- ^ CNN-News18 (2022-08-19). World Youth Bridge Championships 2022 | Anshul Bhatt Crowned World's Youngest Bridge Champion. Retrieved 2024-05-19 – via YouTube.
{{cite AV media}}:|last=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "'Bridge'-ing Generations: From Old-gen Pastime To A Recognised Sport - Forbes India Blogs". Forbes India. Retrieved 2024-05-19.