Beighton Cup from today

By Our Special Correspondent

KOLKATA, MARCH 25. The Beighton Cup, the oldest hockey tournament in the country, will step into the 106th edition this year and promises to be one of the best in terms of participation and quality of teams.

The fortnight-long blue riband tournament of the East, has attracted 16 outstation teams and 14 local outfits. Among the visiting teams the most famous is of course the defending champion for the last two editions, Punjab & Sindh Bank.

The meet, sponsored by Indian Oil Servo, and co- sponsored by Selvel, Allahabad Bank, Officer's Choice-Aqua Pura and Birla VXL, begins on Monday.

The holder will be seeded into the quarterfinal league along with other fancied teams like Army XI, Border Security Force (Jalandhar) and the lone foreign participant, the Bangladesh XI.

Speaking at a press conference, the secretary of the Bengal Hockey Association (BHA) and a former Olympian, Mr. Gurbux Singh, said his association had always made sincere efforts to get teams from across the border. While he succeeded in the Eastern front by roping in the participation of the Bangladesh national team which did very well in the international hockey tournament held back home, a team from Western front, Pakistan Customs, failed to make it despite showing a lot of interest in the meet, owing to reasons beyond the BHA's control.

The Bangladesh team, coached by a German for the past three years, should be a top attraction provided it adopts well to the grassy field on which the tournament will be played.

Other outstation teams include Uttar Pradesh XI, Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial Security Force (New Delhi), Sikh Regimental Centre (Ramgarh), South Central Railway (Secunderabad), ONGC, Bombay Customs and Tata Steel.

The local challenge will be headed by the reigning local champion, Sports Authority of India (Calcutta), and Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW).

The top two finishers in the BHA league will be seeded into the quarterfinals. The two apart, Calcutta Customs, CESC, BNR and ERSA are the top attractions.

The BHA has made efforts to give the teams decent playing field for the past three to four years. Apart from the Mohun Bagan ground, the Calcutta Cricket & Football Club (CC&FC), one of the best maintained fields in the city, will also be available for the tournament. Matches up to the quarterfinal league will be held at both the venues, the two semifinals and the final, all to be telecast live by Doordarshan, will be played at the Mohun Bagan ground on April 7 and 9, respectively.

To encourage participation by good teams, the BHA is offering an attractive prize fund. The winner will be richer by Rs. 1 lakh, the runner-up Rs. 50,000, the two losing semifinalists Rs. 15,000 each and the best player of the final Rs. 10,000.

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