Under- 18 Indian Girls Rugby Team Is Ready for Its First International Championship at The Asian Rugby 7s In UAE

by Shrutee K/DNS

Mumbai, November 28: An Indian Girls (Under-18) Rugby team will be competing in the inaugural Asian Girls Under-18 Rugby Sevens Championship being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from November 30 to December 1, 2016. This is the first time an Indian Girls Under-18 team will be participating in an international rugby event. The team is supported by Societe Generale, the financial partner of Rugby India and is participating under the aegis of the Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU), the governing body for the sport of Rugby in India.

A total of Six countries from across Asia including Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, India and hosts UAE will participate in this inaugural event and vie for top honours. The six teams will play on a Round Robin basis, with each team playing five league matches plus one knockout match over the two days. Post the league matches, the top two ranked teams would play the Finals with the next two ranked teams for 3^rd& 4^th placing while the last two ranked teams for 5^th and 6^thplacing. 

The players shortlisted to join the Indian National Training Camp were selected during the ‘Societe Generale Junior National Rugby Sevens Championship 2016’ held on October 20 & 21, 2016 at the Bombay Gymkhana grounds in Mumbai, where a total of 18 State teams participated.  The training camp for selection of the Indian team was held in Mumbai from November 14 to 28.

Societe Generale endeavors to support Rugby India’s efforts of nurturing talent so that there is an increase in participation for rugby in the coming years.  Moreover, it will seek to give talented players a platform to represent the country at various national and international championships.

Speaking about the Indian team, Mahesh Mathai, Secretary General, Rugby India said, “This is the first time an Indian Girls Under-18 team is participating in an Asian Rugby event. It is encouraging to see rugby growing at a rapid rate in India, particularly amongst the Women. Various initiatives targeting schools, clubs, communities and the youth across the 24 playing States, has propelled this growth and the results speak for itself.”

For years, we used to concentrate only on the senior teams due to lack of funds. But with Societe Generale coming on board, we have been able to really concentrate on our grassroots program. The participation numbers through the Get Into Rugby Program in India has witnessed significant growth across all age groups. 2016 has seen an increase of over 300% (31,490 to 1,00,000) in comparison to last years efforts.  Female participation has also grown considerably, contributing to 40% of the overall participation. We wish the team all the very best for the championship”.

The following 12 players are selected from across India to represent the nation at the Under-18 Asian Girls Rugby Sevens Championship in UAE.

1. Sumitra Nayak (Captain, Odisha)
2. Ruchi Shetty (vice-captain, Maharashtra)
3. Basanti Pangi (Odisha)
4. Manjulata Pradhan (Odisha)
5. Krutuja Manglurkar (Maharashtra)
6. Sweta Shahi (Bihar)
7. Kshitija Manglurkar (Maharashtra)
8. Gargee Walekar (Maharashtra)
9. Rajani Sabar (Odisha)
10. Lija Sardar (Odisha)
11. Priyanka Bais (Maharashtra)
12. Shraddha Lawand (Maharashtra)

Coach

1. Nasser Hussain (Coach)
2. Rehmuddin Shaikh (Asst. Coach)

This international tournament is an indication of how this partnership has encouraged young girls and groomed them into bringing out their potential. Societe Generale in partnership with Rugby India is dedicated towards building and developing sportsmanship skills through shared values of Team Spirit, Commitment, Responsibility and Innovation.