India win but fail to impressIndia finally got their act together, if only just, and snatched an unconvincing 1-0 win against New Zealand for their first points in pool A of the men's World Cup hockey tournament, here on a damp and chilly Tuesday. After struggling to get going for much of the game, Mukesh Kumar found the net from the penalty spot after receiving a fine, through pass from Sabu Varkey, about six minutes from the close.Indian eves loseThe Netherlands and Argentina qualified for the semi-finals from pool B with all-win records after four matches in the women's World Cup hockey tournament, in Utrecht on Monday. The Dutch overwhelmed India 5-0 while Argentina staged yet another come-from-behind act to beat New Zealand 2-1.Agassi upsetAndre Agassi's remarkable comeback to top-flight tennis suffered a major setback in Paris when he was sent packing 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 from the first round of the French Open by Russian teenager Marat Safin. Gustavo Kuerten and Monica Seles issued omnious warnings to would-be opponents, racing to impressive straight-sets wins. Sergi Bruguera of Spain also suffered a shock he went down 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 to Herman Gumy of Argentina.Weakest umpireThe l'affaire Irfan Zaidi is getting curiouser and curiouser by the minute, and the International Hockey Federation (FIH), apparently, knows not how to handle the murky situation. Apparently, Tournament Director Heinz Woltje of Germany, last night spoke to a few mediapersons at different times and was quoted as saying: ``Zaidi is the weakest of the umpires here. He apparently could not handle the pressure on him, which resulted in a poor performance.'' AITA planFollowing Spain's example, the All-Indian Tennis Association (AITA) have drawn up elaborate plans to boost the sport in the country. At its Executive Committee meeting in Mumbai, AITA have decided to host at least 20 tournaments for both men and women in a year, besides holding one more tournament each in the Satellite, Challenger and ATP category.
