The New Zealand Women’s Bridge Team experienced both commendable success and heart-breaking disappointment at the World Championships in Argentina.

The team consists of Linda Cartner, Glenis Palmer, Christine and Jenna Gibbons from Auckland, Mindy Wu from Wellington, Kate Terry from Tauranga and their non-playing Captain Kris Wooles from Christchurch.

After qualifying comfortably in 14th place, the Women’s Team faced England in the Round of 16.

The team initially looked poised for a significant upset, leading by 50 international match points after 45 of 60 boards.

However, a challenging final set saw them lose 13-69, ultimately losing the match by a narrow margin of 6 international match points.

The New Zealand Women's Bridge Team. Photo supplied.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand Mixed Team also qualified for the top 16, finishing in 13th place. However, they faced a dominant Polish team and were defeated by a wide margin (140-46).

The Open and Seniors Teams fell short of qualification, with the Open Team finishing 11th and the Seniors missing the top 16 by just 4 victory points.

Despite the disappointing end, the Women’s Team delivered a commendable performance overall, narrowly missing a major victory.

Downtime is important for recharging from 11 hours of play! Christine Gibbons, Jenna Gibbons, Glenis Palmer, Linda Cartner, Kris Wooles, Mindy Wu and Kate Terry. Photo supplied.

In the Pablo Lambardi Transnational Open Teams event, a Kiwi team featuring Matthew Brown, Michael Whibley, Liam Milne and James Coutts made a stunning run and clinched second place, adding another achievement for New Zealand at the championships.

Also young gun 21-year-old Leon Meier was in the 3rd-placed Hollands team in the Board-a-Match competition.

The World Bridge Championships had representative teams from 41 countries across 4 divisions which require qualification to enter.

New Zealand had 4 teams represented and all competed well, showing the dedication and talent within the country's bridge community and New Zealand’s standing on the world stage.