Chandigarh 8212; Short corner

BCCI seeks Govt approval on tours
Uncertainty prevails over India8217;s tour to Toronto and Australia as the country8217;s highest cricketing authority, Board of Control for Cricket in India, today chose to put the ball in the government8217;s court, saying it would abide by its policy on the matter of playing against Pakistan in view of the Kargil conflict. The government on the other hand had left it to the discretion of the BCCI on whether to play against Pakistan. Fine on AkramPAKISTAN8217;S Accountability Bureau has reportedly recommended a heavy fine on suspended skipper Wasim Akram, while urging that he be cleared to represent the country for the coming season. The English daily quot;The Newsquot; reported this today quoting sources, which also said the bureau had submitted a quot;balanced reportquot; to President Mohammad Rafiq Tarar yesterday to protect Pakistan8217;s image and ensure the match-fixing issue was closed for good.

Greene shines
Maurice Greene matched Ben Johnson8217;s meet record in the 100 metres and broke Carl Lewis8217; stadium mark in the 200m for an impressive double in the Mai Galan meet. Competing before 10,225 fans at Malmo Stadium last evening, the world-record holder from the United States clocked 10.05 in the 100. Fellow American Dennis Mitchell was fastest out of the blocks and led halfway through, when Greene surged ahead and won by four-hundredths of a second.

Barua loses
Indian grandmaster Dibyendu Barua fought a great battle against Vastly higher-rated alexander khalifman of russia before losing in the second set of tie-breaks to tumble out of the FIDE World Chess Championship in the first round. In the first tie-break, a two-game mini match in which each player had 25 minutes plus 10 seconds per move to complete a game.

Paes, Fazal bow out
India8217;s campaign in the Du Maurier Open Men8217;s tennis tournament got off to a poor start in Montreal, Canada last night with both Leander Paes and Syed Fazaluddin losing. India number one Paes crashed out of the singles first round, losing 4-6, 2-6 to Australian Jason Stoltenberg.