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Friday, Feb 16, 2007
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TN in football final

GUWAHATI: Inspired by James Singh's 34th minute strike, Tamil Nadu produced a stunning upset, ousting Meghalaya in the men's football semifinal of the 33rd National Games at the Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.

Tamil Nadu will take on Assam, a fluent winner against Bengal 3-0, in the final.

Meghalaya dominated the game, but had to end up the loser. Taking a free kick, James Singh tried to beat the wall, but the ball hit a defender's shoulder, changed course and bounced awkwardly in front of the goalkeeper before entering the net.

After having taken the lead, Tamil Nadu showed a lot of doggedness to hold on to the lead and ultimately won the match.

Earlier, Bengal proved no match for host Assam. Mrinal Boro (61st and 74th) and Birjav Mushahary (89th) scored for the host. Mainly comprising young players, Bengal's march into the semifinal was not very impressive. On the other hand, Assam, backed by the home crowd, did wonderfully well winning all its league matches including a 2-0 win over Tamil Nadu.

It's Manipur vs. Orissa

Meanwhile, the women's final would be between Manipur and Orissa. In the last four matches, Orissa rode on Saritha Behera's lone strike in the first half to send Goa packing, while Manipur struck once in each half through M. Bembem Devi and S. Manitombi Devi to eliminate Bengal.

After the bronze medal matches on Friday, both the finals will be played on Saturday. — Special Correspondent

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