Rain washes out semis

CALCUTTA, June 12: The first semi-final of the McDowell Cup football tournament between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal was abandoned today due to heavy rain. The match was scheduled to start at 6 p.m. under floodlights at the Salt Lake Stadium. Both the teams entered the field inspite of the rain and even started warming up. However, Mohun Bagan coach Amal Dutta, after inspecting the ground, felt that the ground was unplayable and ordered his team to return to the dressing room.

East Bengal remained on the field for another 10 minutes before disappearing inside the sub-way. Later, the referee and the match comissioner decided to abandon play for the day, citing technical problems. The match will now be played tomorrow at the same time. The second semi-final between Mukti Joddha and Bengal Mumbai Football Club will be played on Sunday while the final will be held on Tuesday. Meanwhile, East Bengal midfielder Renedy Singh has sustained a fracture in the match against Bengal Mumbai Football Club. He might well be out of active football for quite some time.