India lose 2-3 in Davis CupWhen it came to the crunch Mahesh Bhupathi failed to deliver. After India no. 1 Leander Paes easily defeated his Korean counterpart Lee Hyung Daek 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the first reverse singles to level the Asia-Oceania Zone Group I Davis Cup at 2-2, Bhupathi had a great chance to win the tie for India. Bhupathi was broken eight of the nine times he served in the next three sets and lost 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 ip two hours 18 minutes, and South Korea won the tie 3-2. They will now play New Zealand in a play-off to decide which team will go to the world group qualifying round.Sportsmen's unionSome of the leading sportspersons of the country have decided to form a `Sportsmen's Union of India' to voice their grievances. Asian Games discus throw silver medallist Anil Kumar, who has been among the most vocal athletes in the recent years, announced here today that already 3500 sportspersons have joined the `union'. He addressed a joint press conference along with Jaspal Rana and Dingko Singh.Sridhar winsTamil Nadu top seed Vinod Sridhar took the gold medal in tennis singles defeating an erratic Vasudev Reddy of Andhra Pradesh 7-5, 6-3 at the Officers' Club, in Imphal. In the play-off for bronze, Mustafa Ghouse of Maharasthra beat Tamil Nadu's Manoj Mahadevan 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.Bengal stunnedStrong contenders Bengal were stunned 0-3 by Maharashtra in the first semi-final of the National Games football tournament. Maharashtra will meet Assam who beat Goa 1-0 in the second semi-final later in the afternoon.Indian captaincyShould Mohammed Azharuddin continue to lead India? This is a poser that needs to be urgently addressed if the team is to be moulded into one that would be a force to reckon with in the World Cup.
