Azhar shifts blame to Laxman
CALCUTTA, Feb 20 — Skipper Mohammad Azharuddin today tried to shift the blame to V.V.S. Laxman for letting off Pakistani opener Saeed Anwar which conceivably cost India the inaugural Asian Test championship match here.

• Azhar completes 6,000 runs

India win doubles tie
CHEJU (South Korea) Feb, 20 — World's top pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi put the Indian Davis Cup campaign back on the rails, beating South Koreans Lee Hung-Taik and Kim Dong Hyun in straight sets in the doubles today.

India’s win too late
PESHAWAR, Feb 20 — Battle-weary India finally got their act together, notching up a consolation 2-1 win over Pakistan in the third hockey Test at the jam-packed Lala Ayub Hockey Stadium here today.

Jim Courier enters last four
MEMPHIS (TENNESSEE), Feb 20 — Jim Courier is having fun playing tennis again, and sixth-seeded Mariano Puerta paid the price yesterday at the $700,000 St. Jude Indoor Tournament.

New hockey format for next nationals
CHENNAI, Feb 20 — Fortytwo teams, including the reigning Champions Indian Railways and the runners-up Tamil Nadu, will vie for honours in the 59th Senior National Hockey Championship for the Rangaswamy Cup to be held at Hyderabad form March 10 to 26.

East Bengal win 2-1
MARGO, Feb 20 — Title aspirants East Bengal rallied well to overcome a stiff challenge from F C Kochin and post a 2-1 victory in the first leg of the super league edition of National Football League here today.

Pierce pulls out of Paris Open
PARIS, Feb 20 — Defending champion Mary Pierce has pulled out of next week’s $ 500,000 Paris Indoor Open because of hand and shoulder injuries.

India cave in as Eden crowd erupts

CALCUTTA, Feb 20 (PTI) — Marred by unruly crowd behaviour which forced suspension of play for a long time, the Indian tailenders succumbed rather tamely to give Pakistan a 46-run victory on an eventful final day of the tri-nation series here today.

Needing 65 runs for a victory on the tense fifth day, cricket virtually took a back seat as the disgraceful crowd behaviour forced play at the Eden Gardens to be suspended for more than 160 minutes as the spectre of an Indian defeat loomed large with the hosts losing three wickets in quick succession.

Resuming at the overnight score of 214 for six in their second innings, the Indians lost their remaining four wickets for the addition of just 18 runs in 6.1 overs with captain Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar polishing off the tail without much difficulty.

The shameful crowd behaviour, which simply refused to allow play to resume after it was suspended with India on 231 for nine, has further tarnished Eden Gardens reputation as a cricket centre. The entire crowd had to be cleared by the security forces before play could commence again in an empty stadium.

The trouble started after Anil Kumble’s dismissal as a section of the crowd, refusing to accept an Indian defeat, threw stones and plastic bottles on to the ground forcing umpires Steve Bucknor and David Orchard to suspend play.

Additional units of rapid action force (RAF) were brought on to the ground to control the situation but the crowd seemed determined to keep throwing objects on to the field.

The two umpires and match referee Cammie Smith tried to start play twice but fresh barrages of missiles forced the players to get back to the safety of the dressing rooms.

The police then started the time-consuming operation of forcibly clearing the galleries near empty stadium. Only a handful of spectators in the club house were allowed to stay and watch the final moments of the Test.

Almost 70,000 spectators turned up in the morning to watch the fifth and final day’s proceedings but the fall of three quick wickets, including that of local hero Saurav Ganguly, triggered off the ugly scenes. But fortunately the situation was not allowed to go out of control.

Weighed down by Tendulkar’s controversial run out, the Indians started the day still needing 65 runs for victory. But hopes of reaching the target disappeared in the second over of the morning with Ganguly returning to the pavilion in Akram’s second over today.

Left-handed Ganguly played a rather poor shot as he tried to play Akram’s away going delivery without coming into line and only succeeded in edging the ball to wicket-keeper Moin Khan who held on to a lovely catch.

The Pakistani captain struck again in his next over by getting rid of Javagal Srinath who was brilliantly caught by Shahid Afridi at cover, diving full length to grab the catch just a few inches from the ground.

With India slumping to 224 for nine in the first five overs, it was only a matter of time for the Pakistani celebrations to begin. Including five bonus points, from the inaugural Asian Test championship match, while the Indians had to be content with five bonus points.

The left-handed Saeed Anwar and Indian pace spearhead Javagal Srinath were jointly declared the man of the match for their brilliant performance.

The Pakistan pace duo of Akram and Akhtar began bowling operations in misty morning conditions and it did not take them long to bundle out the Indians, managing to extract some swing.

Akhtar, considered to be the fastest bowler in the world at the moment, was the most successful one for Pakistan returning figures of four for 74 while off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq chipped in with three for 69.

But the cricketing feats were largely overshadowed by the Eden Garden crowd’s unruly behaviour which could have led to the abandonment of the match.

Although security arrangements were tightened up for the fifth day's play apprehending trouble, the police had a trying time coping with the irate crowd and eventually took the decision to vacate the stadium.

The crowd behaviour was reminiscent of the 1996 World Cup semi-final match between Sri Lanka and India which was abandoned and awarded to Sri Lanka after the crowd threw missiles onto the field.

Just when it seemed Pakistan’s tour of the country would pass off without any major glitch, the last two days’ incidents at the Eden Gardens have come as a shock.

Scoreboard

Pakistan (Ist innings) 185

India (Ist innings) 223

Pakistan (2nd innings) 316

India (2nd innings)

S Ramesh lbw b Mushtaq 40

VVS Laxman c Youhana b Mushtaq 67

R Dravid c Khan b Akhtar 13

S Tendulkar run out 9

M Azharuddin c Youhana b Mushtaq 20

S Ganguly c Mehmood b Akram 24

N Mongia lbw Akhtar 1

A Kumble c Afridi b Akhtar 16

J Srinath c Khan b Akram 3

V Prasad b Akhtar 2

H Singh not out 0

Extras (b-10, lb-9, nb-18) 37

Total (all out in 79.1 overs) 232

Fall of wickets: 1/108, 2/134, 3/145, 4/149, 5/183, 6/190, 7/219, 8/224, 9/231.

Bowling: Akhtar 20.1-5-47-4, Saqlain Mushtaq 25-5-69-3, Akram 24-4-64-2, Afridi 4-1-10-0, Mehmood 6-0-23-0.

Calcutta image sullied
Javed Miandad writes

WINNING and losing are part of the game. What disappointed me was the behaviour of the crowd. As a city which was known for its love sport, the image of Calcutta would now take a beating. Ever since my first visit here some 20 years ago this city has been always known for supporting sportspersons and is more often, held out as an example.

India will go on playing, and as you know winning and losing are part of the game, same with Pakistan too. But behaviour makes a difference not only for the team but for the country as well.

The Sachin Tendulkar incident was not deliberate.There was a stage when the captains were talking to each other. Sunil Gavaskar and I were also discussing. But two balls later after Sachin's dismissal there was absolutely no way the umpire's decision could be reversed. If you see the reply it's obvious that Sachin Tendulkar made the mistake of looking at the ball and so was Shoaib Akhtar. There was so much room, the batsman could have gone anywhere. I remember the situation was the same when an incident happened between Dennis Lillee and me. But in my case I pushed Lillee. These things happen and are to be taken in the stride. It was all part of the excitement of this series.

The three matches were absorbing through they were low scoring. All credit to the Pakistan team for the hard work they put in. They were playing like a team wanting to achieve something and win. Nothing is lost for India by losing this match. They still have the next two matches if they win against Sri Lanka and then the final.

Since we came here we have been looked well by the people on and off the field. They were so happy to see India and Pakistan play Test cricket on Indian soil. Of course, people were shouting bad things but they hardly knew under what circumstances we came here. There was pressure all around. It is my humble advice just take it as a sport and nothing more than that.

After a long time we had a good wicket here in Calcutta. If wickets are made like this, I am sure India will produce good fast bowlers. It not only helped the fast bowlers and spinners but also the batsman.

Calcutta crowd disappoints Akram

CALCUTTA, Feb 20 (PTI) — Pakistan Captain Wasim Akram’s hopes to play in a "sport friendly Eden" crashed today with an unruly crowd forcing interruption of the final day’s play of the Asian Test championship inaugural match by 160 minutes today.

"I thought the Calcutta crowd was more disciplined", a disappointed Akram told reporters at the end of the match.

He said the incident was a "definite disappointment" for the entire Pakistani team and blamed the media for having blown out of proportion Tendulkar’s controversial dismissal on the fourth day.

"Today’s agitation among a section of the crowd was because they had read reports in the newspapers this morning saying that Sachin’s dismissal was not justified," he said.

Cricket between the two countries will not be affected by today’s disruption of the match, he said, adding that the Pakistan team was playing not against a "single person but against the whole Indian team".

Pakistan team manager Shahryar Khan said today’s events at Eden Gardens were only a "small hitch" in their "otherwise peaceful tour".

"We have had a wonderful tour. It was only a small minority of the crowd which created problems. We can’t hold Eden (gardens) responsible as a whole."

About the ensuing triangular series in Sri Lanka, Akram said he was "quite confident" his team would emerge victorious.

Asked about his team’s current tour to India, he said, "We have been playing positive cricket and like Indians we too are human beings. I would certainly like to come back to the country to play again."

Indian Captain Mohammad Azharuddin said the crowd behaviour was a "major disappointment".

"This had happened before also", he said warding off speculations that it could be a hang-over of yesterday’s uproar.

Asked about his missing Pakistani opener Saeed Anwar’s catch on the third day, Azhar said he had tried his best to take it. "I tried a catch which was somebody else’s. I don’t want to name the fielder."

Coach Anshuman Gaekwad, visibly displeased over today’s goings on at Eden Gardens declined to comment on the issue.

Azhar shifts blame to Laxman

CALCUTTA, Feb 20 (PTI) — Skipper Mohammad Azharuddin today tried to shift the blame to V.V.S. Laxman for letting off Pakistani opener Saeed Anwar which conceivably cost India the inaugural Asian Test championship match here.

Azhar dropped Anwar in Pakistan’s second innings on Wednesday when the left hander had made only two runs. Anwar went on to make his highest Test score of 188 not out but for which India would probably have won the match here.

Asked about the dropped catch, Azhar said at a post-match press conference today "I tried a catch which was somebody else’s. I don’t want to name the fielder".

Azhar was standing at first slip when Anwar snicked Srinath. The Indian Captain grabbed at the catch before dropping it.

Although he didn’t name the fielder he was trying to blame, he was obviously referring to Laxman who was standing to his left at second slip. Nor did he explained why he tried to take a catch "which was somebody else’s".

Azharuddin’s performance as Captain as well as batsman has throughout the current Pakistani tour, been lacklustre. He made 11, 7, 67, 14, 23 and 20 in the three Tests.

Azhar completes 6,000 runs

Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin completed 6,000 runs in Test cricket on Friday. He achieved this landmark when he reached 18 in his 20- run second innings knock in the inaugural match of the Asian Test Championship against Pakistan at Calcutta.

Azharuddin is the fourth Indian and 27th batsman to achieve this milestone. From India Sunil Gavaskar (10,122 runs in 125 Tests), Dilip Vengsarkar (6,868 runs in 116 Tests) and Gundappa Vishwanath (6,080 runs in 91 Tests) are the other batsmen to achieve this landmark. Azharuddin achieved this landmark in his 143rd innings of the 97th Test match.

India win doubles tie

CHEJU (South Korea) Feb, 20 (AFP, UNI) — World's top pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi put the Indian Davis Cup campaign back on the rails, beating South Koreans Lee Hung-Taik and Kim Dong Hyun in straight sets in the doubles today.

With the visitors 0-2 down after losing both the singles yesterday, Paes-Bhupathi, runners-up at the Australian Open at Melbourne last month, came out with all cylinder’s firing to score a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory to make it 1-2 for India in the Asia-Oceania zone group-I match here.

On match point in the singles, Paes had squandered a number of chances to lose a five-setter 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 2-6, 1-6 to Korean number two Yoon Yong-Il after his doubles partner Bhupathi went down tamely 6-1 7-5 6-2 to Lee Hyun-Taik.

In the doubles today, the Indian duo, who are favourites to take over the world number one mantle after the top Dutch pair of Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhius broke away owing to Eltingh announcing his retirement, did not give the Koreans much chance and came up with easy breaks for the comfortable win.

There are very few things one can take for granted in a Davis Cup tie, but it was certain that Leader Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi would win their double tie.

India need to win both reverse singles tomorrow to advance to World Group qualifying round. Paes plays Lee in the clash of the No 1 players in the first match while Bhupathi plays Yoon Yong-Il in the second.

India's non-playing Captain Mukherjea said, "Tomorrow is another day, I think we have got a good chance. If Leander can win the first match, anything can happen in the second. It's just unfortunate that yesterday we couldn't make it 1-1.

Added Paes, who had lost to Yoon in five sets after having had a matchpoint, "one point, such a difference between being 1-2 down.I know what I'm up against tomorrow and I know what to do.

The Koreans clearly had given up the doubles. Right from the beginning they had pinned their hopes on winning three singles ties and this was reaffirmed this afternoon when they pulled Yoon out from the doubles, resting him for the reverse singles, which could turn out to be the decisive match in the tie.

In the event, Yoon's replacement, Kim, was the weak link. Peas-Bhupathi broke him the first time he served and attacked him for easy points.

Both Kim and Lee were broken once each in the first two sets and in the final set, Kim, in the third game, was the only break.

The only time Indians appeared to lose their grip was when Paes was broken while serving for the second set at 5-1, a result more of careless volleying than any great play by the Koreans.

With a win under their belt to boost their morale the Indians will try to pull it off tomorrow and in Davis Cup nothing can be taken for granted.

Tamil Nadu boxer dies
New records in hammer throw, 20 km walk

IMPHAL, Feb 20 (UNI) — Melancholy swept the National Games village today after Tamil Nadu boxer K. Karunakaran died of a cardiac arrest, while it witnessed clashes over alleged molestation of a local girl by some athletes last night.

The boxer had a heart attack when he was jogging this morning. Though he was rushed to the main medical centre, he was declared brought dead.

Karunakaran was slated for a bout this afternoon. He was a medal prospect for Tamil Nadu when fate took an ugly turn.

Kerala continued to wield the top spot with 30 gold, followed by hosts, the Manipur with 22.

Manipur is likely to gain some more medals in boxing and taek won- do, their forte.

Manipur’s performance at the Games this year has been their best-ever in the games’ history. Their best haul was 15 gold in the last National Games at Bangalore.

Uttar Pradesh hammer thrower Pramod Tiwari, Services walker Sita Ram and heptathelete Soma Biswas of West Bengal set meet marks while Services men and Punjab women emerged champions in the National Games athletics which concluded today.

Young Punjab runner Sunita Rani completed a grand distance double and was declared the best woman athlete with her Manipur counterpart N. Gojen Singh earning the best male athlete accolade for his 5000-10000 double.

Services were declared men’s champions with 80 points and Punjab women claimed 75 points to top the women’s standings.

Services sprinter Anil Kumar and Tamil Nadu S.V. Jeyalakshmi settled personal scores to emerge the fastest man and woman of the meet by nailing down the 100m titles.

24-year-old Allahabad Customs inspector Pramod Tiwari claimed the men’s hammer with a new meet mark of 65.61 in his fifth try, erasing the 64.28 m effort by Rajesh Bharadwaj (Del) at Pune in ’94, Tiwari, whose national mark stands at 67.26, showed fine recovery from a recent heel fracture.

21-year-old Calcutta Railways heptathlete Soma Biswas showed her rise in the national level by tallying 5165 points which improved upon current national record holder G.G. Pramila’s (Kar) 5055 mark set at Pune in 1994.

The third record came from Sita Ram, who clocked one hour 32 minutes and 43 seconds to win the men’s 20km walk, the first four finishers bettered Gurdeep Singh’s (Services) old mark of 1:34.29 set at Bangalore in 1997.

20-year-old Punjab runner Sunita Rani completed a superb triple gold triumph when she won the 5000 m. The Bangkok Asian Games silver medallist ran all by herself for most part to win in a slow 16 minutes 05.36 seconds. But her effort helped her state claim the women's team title too.

India’s win too late
From Amardeep Bhattal
Tribune News Service

PESHAWAR, Feb 20 — Battle-weary India finally got their act together, notching up a consolation 2-1 win over Pakistan in the third hockey Test at the jam-packed Lala Ayub Hockey Stadium here today.

The visitors led by a solitary goal at the breather.

While Baljit Singh Dhillon utilised a free hit by Mohammed Riaz in the 12th minute to put India in the lead, outside-left Rajesh Chauhan capitalised on a rebound to consolidate the advantage a minute after half-time.

However, Pakistan pulled one back through penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas whose angular hit off centre-half Saqlain's push gave Indian custodian BC Poonacha absolutely no chance.

For a change, India held a clear edge over their rivals enjoying greater ball possession and with a little more luck, could have won by a bigger margin. However, credit for keeping the margin narrow goes to the Pakistani defence and dependable goalkeeper Ahmed Alam, who made several saves in difficult situations.

Pakistan coach Shahnaz Sheikh, nevertheless expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of his team, especially the forward-line, which according to him did not play according to expectations and potential.

Pakistan initially showed promise with centre-forward Mohammed Farooq moving in dangerously following a defence-splitting pass. But the move failed to yield any positive result.

It was off a counter-attack that India finally succeeded in breaking the deadlock. A free hit by Mohammad Riaz from the 'D' top saw international Baljit Singh Dhillon making a quick deflection with Ahmed Alam stranded under the Pakistani bar.

Buoyed by the early advantage, India mounted pressure with promising centre-forward Gagan Ajit Singh testing Ahmed Alam with a reverse flick following a Dhillon move. This was followed by another good attempt by Thirumal Valavan off a pass from Riaz but the alert Ahmed Alam managed a timely deflection.

Pakistan's attacks came mainly from the right flank with outside right Mohammed Sarwar and Haider chipping in with some fine counter-attacks. A few minutes before the breather, Mohammed Sarwar weaved his way into the 'D' by failed to do any damage. In the 34th minute, Pakistan earned the first penalty corner, which also proved to be of no avail.

Immediately after changing ends, India surprised the Pakistanis with the second goal which was the result of a move by Gagan Ajit Singh. After Gagan's attempt was foiled on the goal-line by a rival defender, the ball came to outside-left Rajesh Chauhan, who making amends for his earlier lapses, shot home making it 2-0 in favour of India.

However, Pakistan were quick to hit back a minute later when they were awarded a penalty corner, the second one earned by them. Following Saqlain's push, full back Sohail Abbas, who has emerged as a penalty corner specialist for Pakistan, found the target much to the joy of his team-mates.

In the 41st minute, the proceedings were temporarily halted as bottles came flying from the stands when India had earned their second penalty corner. However, better sense prevailed following Pakistan skipper Atif Bashir's appeal to the spectators, who seemingly were incensed by the happenings at Calcutta's Eden Gardens today.

Midway through the second half, Pakistan's outside-right Mohammed Sarwar moved in and tried to put Haider in possession but the latter failed to hold on to the ball on the goal-line.

India had another good chance to consolidate their position when centre-forward Daljit Singh Dhillon beat the rival defence with a neat pass to Chauhan but Chauhan wasted precious seconds in taking a first-time hit.

The visitors were in for a shock as the experienced Baljit Singh Saini, who played a major role in the midfield, had to leave the field with a hand injury following a rough tackle, seemingly overlooked by the umpire. He was replaced by Brojen Singh. A few minutes later, centre-forward Gagan Ajit Singh also limped out of the ground with a knee injury. Nevertheless, the Indians held on to the 2-1 advantage till the final hooter, giving some relief to the officials after having lost the series with the 4-2 loss at Karachi two days back.

Indian coach Vasudevan Baskaran, while giving full credit to the defence manned by Anil Aldrin did Dilip Tirkey, said the turf and not offer much help but last year's experience had stood the boys in good stead. The two teams now move to Rawalpindi for the next Test.

Jim Courier enters last four

MEMPHIS (TENNESSEE), Feb 20 (AP) — Jim Courier is having fun playing tennis again, and sixth-seeded Mariano Puerta paid the price yesterday at the $700,000 St. Jude Indoor Tournament.

Courier needed only 49 minutes to beat Puerta 6-0, 6-2 and advance to the semifinals against JohnVan Lottum, a 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 winner over unseeded Daniel Nestor.

Asked if he was feeling good enough to win this week, Courier said he was taking his comeback bid match by match.

But I’m really happy about the way I’m playing. Don’t get me wrong,’’ said Courier, who hasn’t won since the US Clay Court Championships last April. Cautiously optimistic is probably the way I’m approaching it,’’ he said.

Courier was anything but cautious against Puerta, who was appearing in his first quarterfinal this year. He came out strong, serving 10 aces and winning 24 of 27 points off his first serve.

"Some weeks you’re just in a groove, like a golfer who’s driving the ball real well,’’ Courier said. "Same thing with the serves. Some weeks you do it better than others. I’m doing it well this week.’’

Puerta had played well enough to raise his ranking from 140 last February to 37th in the world currently. But he never found his rhythm against Courier, who entered the tournament on a wild card and is currently ranked 69th.

Puerta was broken in his first three service games and lost the first set in 22 minutes. He double faulted five times and didn’t hold serve until he trailed 2-0 in the second set.

Courier stayed focused between games and enjoyed the short match after being taken to a tiebreaker in the second round and three sets in the third.

But memories of his struggles, injuries and the distance he has dropped since he held the World No. 1 ranking in 1992 are keeping his confidence in check.

"It’s such a day-to-day operation playing this game. I feel like I’m playing better as the tournament progresses, but there are never any guarantees. I have to be ready tomorrow,’’ Courier said.

Van Lottum reached his second career semifinal and first in a year by holding off Nestor, who had reached the quarterfinals by upsetting No. 2 seed Mark Philippoussis.

New hockey format for next nationals

CHENNAI, Feb 20 (UNI, PTI) — Fortytwo teams, including the reigning Champions Indian Railways and the runners-up Tamil Nadu, will vie for honours in the 59th Senior National Hockey Championship for the Rangaswamy Cup to be held at Hyderabad form March 10 to 26.

A new format for the championship would be finalised during the competition, the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) Secretary, Mr K. Joythikumaran, said yesterday.

Announcing the groupings for the Hyderabad nationals, he told a press conference here that this would be the last National championship to be held in the existing format with 42 teams.

An IHF executive council meeting slated during the championship would finalise the new format.

The teams had been divided into eight groups for the round-robin league and group winners would qualify for the quarterfinals. The semi-finals and final would be held on March 25 and 26.

League matches in groups A, B, C and D would be held from March 10 to 16. After a day's rest, the qualifiers would play in the quarter-finals on March 18, while in groups G.H.I and J, the league matches were slated for March 16 and 23 and quarterfinals on March 24.

Mr Jyothikumaran said the IHF was planning to invite Mr Graham Nash, Chairman, Umpires Board of the Federation International de Hockey (FIH), for the championship to observe the umpiring standards in India. Mr Nash would also conduct a seminar, to be attended by all umpires in the country. Leading women umpires would also be invited to attend the seminar, he said.

As many as 23 umpires (including 19 from outstation) would be posted to officiate in the tournament, he added.

Groupings:
Pool A: Indian Railways, Punjab, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan.
Pool B: Gujarat, Hyderabad, Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland, Postal, C.I.S.F.
Pool C: Mumbai, BSF, SAIL, FCI, Vidharbha.
Pool D: Indian Airlines, Orissa, Haryana, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir.
Pool G: Karnataka, Central Excise, Chandigarh, Delhi, Madhya Bharath, Tata Sports.
Pool H: Services, CRPF, Bengal, Kerala, Assam.
Pool I: Air India, Punjab and Sind, Universities, Pondicherry, Madhya Pradesh.
Pool J: Tamil Nadu, Patiala, Bhopal, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur.

East Bengal win 2-1

MARGO, Feb 20 (PTI) — Title aspirants East Bengal rallied well to overcome a stiff challenge from F C Kochin and post a 2-1 victory in the first leg of the super league edition of National Football League here today.

The match was played at a fast pace with F C Kochin taking an early lead through a snap goal by Noel Wilson in the 5th minute.

Stung by the reverse, East Bengal mounted pressure with raids deep into the rival half from the right and found the equaliser in the 32nd minute through hardworking Emanuel Opoku to have both the teams leading 1-1 at half time.

After change of ends, East Bengal took the lead in the 56th minute through Baichung Bhutia. Hardworking Emanuel Opoku from middle put Bhutia in possession. Bhutia outpaced two defenders in the box and placed the ball past keeper Naseem Akthar into the goal for the match winner.

F C Kochin tried hard in the later stage of the match but found the defence unbeatable. Referee Inayatullah Khan showed yellow cards to Ratan Singh and Bhutia of East Bengal and defender Prabhjot Singh of F C Kochin.

Pierce pulls out of Paris Open

PARIS, Feb 20 (AFP) — Defending champion Mary Pierce has pulled out of next week’s $ 500,000 Paris Indoor Open because of hand and shoulder injuries.

The Canada-born Pierce, whose triumph in the event 12 months ago was her first in her adopted country France, was replaced in the draw yesterday by Isreal’s Anna Smashnova.

The absence of Pierce sharpens the odds of a final between Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Jana Novotna of the Czech Republic — the top seeds at the 28-player event.

There will be no shortage of French interest, however, as Wimbledon finalist Nathalie Tauziat and last month’s Australian Open runner-up Amelie Mauresmo will be competing along with Sandrine Testud, Julie Halard-Decugis, Sarah Pitkowski and Alexandra Fusai.

Other players taking part include last year’s finalist Dominique Van Roost of Belgium, Irina Spirlea of Romania, Serena Williams of the USA and Ai Sugiyama of Japan.

Arun, Munish in semis

CHANDIGARH, Feb 20 (BOSR) — A fine allround performance by Arun Tuli and Munish Arora enabled them to enter the semi-finals of the double wicket cricket tournament at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium here today. Another pair of Girish Bhanot and Viresh Sharda also entered the semi-finals in their pool.

Brief scores of the matches.

Girish Bhanot and Viresh Sharda b Vikram and Sanjay Gandhi by five runs.

Munish Arora and Arun Tuli b Birender and Parveen by 34 runs.

Rahul Panta and Vivek Jain shared one point each with Sunil Chaudhary and Amit, as the match ended in a draw.

Munish Arora and Arun Tuli b Atul Kapoor and Jagraj Singh.

Munish Arora and Arun Tuli b Sunil Kumar and Amit Verma by 23 runs.

Girish Bhanot and Viresh Sharda b Vivek Jain and Rahul Panta by 13 runs.

Birender and Parveen b Jugraj Singh and Atul Kapoor by six runs.

Girish Bhanot and Viresh b Sunil and Amit by 25 runs.

Vikram and Sanjay b Rahul and Vivek by two runs.

Punjab basketball championship

LUDHIANA, Feb 20 (FOSR) — The 49th Punjab State Senior Basketball Championships for men and women will be conducted at Hoshiarpur from March 1 to 3, according to Mr R.S. Gill, President, Punjab Basketball Association (PBA).

Entries close on February 27, said Mr Teja Singh Dhaliwal, General Secretary, PBA.

The performance in the championships will be taken into account while selecting the state teams for the senior National Basketball Championships scheduled to be held from March 15 to 22 at Jaipur, he said.