KOLKATA: Edeh Chidi-less Mohun Bagan wasted many opportunities against Pune FC as both teams played out a goal-less draw in their round 15 I-League match at Howrah Stadium on Wednesday.

The qualifiers from Pune continued their unbeaten run in the last seven matches as Mohun Bagan could not score a goal with their ace striker Jose Ramirez Barreto missing his partner Edeh Chidi sorely.

In Chidi's absence, coach Satyajit Chatterjee played Ryuji Sueoka in the forward line but the Japanese recruit was lacklustre and could not make use of the supply by Barreto.

The IPL’s decision to re-tender the bidding process for two new teams, dropping several restrictive clauses, might increase the number of prospective clients, but it certainly has put off one of the existing buyers.

The bid for a team in Pune, from the Videocon group, led by Venugpal Dhoot, Panchshil Realty’s founder Chairman Atul Chordia and including the Bollywood couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, might well back out, and not take a second shot at team ownership on March 21.

MUMBAI: The much-awaited selection of two new Indian Premier League (IPL) teams turned out to be a damp squib on Sunday as the governing council
of the popular Twenty20 tournament decided to change the bid documents, disappointing those such as Videocon’s Venugopal Dhoot and the Adanis who had been widely tipped to emerge as owners of the newly-minted teams.

KOLKATA: If Pune FC's 2-1 win against East Bengal smacked of a touch of surprise, it was brazenly shocking in the way they were denied one more goal during their I-League match at the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday.

It happened in the 71st minute when the visitors were sitting comfortably on a two-goal cushion thanks to strikes from Douhou Djidja Pierre and Edmar Figueira. Douhou, who gave his side the lead in the 51st minute, unleashed a screamer which beat East Bengal goalkeeper Abhra Mondal all ends up.

Kolkata, Mar 1 (PTI) With the trio of Baichung Bhutia, Rennedy Singh and Mehrajuddin Wadoo back in the ranks, East Bengal will have a clear edge over Pune FC in their first match of the second stage of ONGC I league at Yuba Bharati Krirangan here tomorrow.

The presence of Bhutia, Rennedy and Mehrajuddin, who are back after the Asian Cup preparatory match at Dubai, would definitely sharpen East Bengal's attack and the local favourites would hope to put it across the Pune outfit tomorrow.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Olympic champions Germany will look to set aside security fears and focus on clinching their third straight world title when the men's hockey World Cup kicks off on Sunday.

Indian police have promised "foolproof" security for the 12-team event in New Delhi after a bomb blast in the western city of Pune this month killed 15 people and raised safety concerns for visiting teams.

PUNE: Mahindra United halted Pune FC’s winning streak after playing out a goalless stalemate under lights in the round 13 clash of the I-League football tournament at Balewadi Sports Complex here on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: "Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan today said that the Indian hockey team has asked him to spearhead a fund-raising concert to be held in Chandigarh.

"The Hockey National Team is on its way back from training camp at Pune and has a desire to meet me...The Hockey team has been struggling with their association and handlers for their pay to be settled," Bachchan writes in his blog.

BANGALORE/PUNE: Players at the Pune hockey camp on Monday got their monetary incentives for their achievements in 2009, with the Indian Olympic
Players
Day in Pics: January 18
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Association president Suresh Kalmadi giving away the cheques in the morning.

But the surprise came later. The players were happy to note that money was pouring in after they had resorted to the strike but said they wouldn't want anything more than what Sahara had earmarked for them, particularly if it came in the form of donations.

The Indian men's hockey team resumed training in Pune on Thursday ahead of next month's World Cup after the players' dispute with Hockey India over payments was resolved.

The players gathered at the practice camp in the morning and began training. The team had stayed off the camp for six days, demanding the payment of incentives for victories in 2009 and a graded system.

The deadlock was resolved on Wednesday after the intervention of Indian Olympic Association chief Suresh Kalmadi and former player Dhanraj Pillay.