Indian Under-18 Girls Finish Third In The Asia Rugby Sevens Championship

The U-18 girls team produced one of the best performances by any Indian Rugby team as they went on to finish 3rd in the Asia Rugby Sevens Championship held in Dubai.

The members of the team were selected after rigorous scouting and training schedules by Rugby India. The 12 girls are from diverse cultures and backgrounds, but they have achieved something that no other Indian team has achieved in Rugby so far.

Over the two-day meet in Dubai, Team India’s performance was commendable. They remained unbeaten on the first day after three consecutive wins.

The start itself was glorious as they blanked Sri Lanka 24-0 in a vastly one-sided contest. They extended their winning streak by defeating Uzbekistan 19-5.. In the last fixture of the day, the Indians absolutely outplayed hosts UAE. They went on to win 33-0, thus maintaining their winning record on Day 1.

Three teams, viz. India, Hong Kong and Kazakhstan were in contention for the two places in the final. However, the young girls fell to the might of the tournament heavyweights Hong Kong in the first match of Day 2, as they went down fighting 0-5. They never really seemed to have recovered from their loss as Kazakhstan defeated India 24-0 in the do-or-die match to book their place in the final.

However, the team reacted strongly to two back to back defeats. In the 3rd/4th Playoff match, they saw off Sri Lanka’s challenge winning 15-7.

General Manager, Rugby India, Nasser Hussain, spoke exclusively to The Logical Indian from Dubai, “Yes, I am very satisfied with the result. This is the best performance from an Indian Team till date. I am very proud of the girls. They did themselves and the country very proud. I am super pleased. The future is very bright for Women’s Rugby in India.”

It sure seems like it. The youngsters have a long way to go, but for now, they can savour the moment, and we hope that in future they bring many more laurels.