MOSCOW, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- A Russian ice hockey match had to be stopped for a fight between players of West Siberia's Omsk Avangard and Vityaz Chekhov from the Moscow region on Saturday.

    Authorities on Sunday launched an inquest into a brawl, local media reported.

    The match between West Siberia's Omsk Avangard and Vityaz Chekhov was halted about three minutes after it kicked off as players exchanged punches on the rink.

    The game resumed but only for a few seconds as another fight broke out. The referees had to stop the match because an insufficient number of players were left after many had been sent off.

    Russia's Continental Hockey League, which also includes teams from Belarus, Latvia and Kazakhstan, held an emergency meeting Sunday to decide how to punish the protagonists in the face-off.