GUWAHATI, April 15: Guwahati sported a festive look today. The folks here are enjoying a holiday, and a very important one at that. Today is Bihu, the Assamese New Year day. Tomorrow onwards, this city will see a different kind of activity, though not many will be involved in it. The National Football Championships for the Santosh Trophy has reached the half-way stage and the crunch matches start now. Men have been separated from boys in the last couple of weeks as the tournament travelled to various parts of the state in six different clusters. Only the top teams from each cluster remain and they have been joined by the defending champions Bengal.Tomorrow, when Kerala take on the Railways, they will surely be reminded of the title match in 1973. At Ernakulam that year, Kerala beat Railways 3-2 to win their first Santosh Trophy. Kerala later won the tournament in 1991 and 1992. Railways, although they have reached the final a number of times, won it only twice, in 1961 and 1962.Among the other teams,Maharashtra, coached by the best trainer of the National League Bimal Ghosh, have the biggest win so far. A thumping 17-0 margin against Arunachal Pradesh saw Hebert Philips slamming in six goals. Despite the sport being popular here, the tournament has had a lukewarm response so far. However, with Bharat Petroleum putting in their money, the organisers are not unduly worried about the financial aspect.The quarterfinal groupingsGroup I: Goa, Services, Punjab, AssamGroup II: Bengal, Maharashtra, Railways, KeralaLeague FixturesApril 16: Railways vs Kerala; April 17: Punjab vs Assam, Bengal vs Maharashtra; April 18: Goa vs Services; April 19: Maharashttra vs Railways, Bengal vs Kerala; April 20: Services vs Punjab, Goa vs Assam; April 21: Maharashtra vs Kerala, Bengal vs Railways; April 22: Services vs Assam, Goa vs PunjabSemi-finals: April 24: Winner of Group II vs runner-up of Group I (X); April 25: Winner of Group I vs runner up of Group II (Y); April 27: Final (Winner of X vsWinner of Y).
