Bhubaneswar: Four girls from Odisha have been included in the Indian Women’s Rugby Team for the Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy, which will be held the G.B.K Sports complex in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Sumitra Nayak, Hupi Majhi, Subhalaxmi Barik and Meerarani Hembram found their place in the 12-member team announced by Rugby India on Monday.
Rugby India also announced the squad for men’s team for the tournament which is scheduled to begin on August 10.
The tournament will serve as the platform for qualification for the Asia Rugby Sevens Series.
Both teams were part of a 15-day Indian National Training Camp which was held at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar.
The players shortlisted to join the camp were selected during the Societe Generale Senior National Rugby Sevens Championship which was held in Patna last month.
The Indian teams led by skippers Vikas Khatri (Men’s) and Vahbiz Barucha (Women’s) are set to depart for the tournament on August 7.
Commending the athletes, Odisha Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera said, “We have created an ecosystem where we support athletes across several sports disciplines, including Ruby, to achieve their full potential and it gives us immense pleasure today to see these young kids represent our country at the Asian Rugby Sevens Trophy.”
“The zeal of these young and dynamic players is unflinching and with continued practice and team spirit, we are confident, they will achieve great success in their upcoming tournament. Congratulations and best wishes to each one of them,” he added.
Indian Women’s Rugby Team: Vahbiz Bharucha – Captain (Maharashtra), Sweta Shahi (Bihar), Sweety Kumari (Bihar), Sumitra Nayak (Odisha), Hupi Majhi (Odisha), Subhalaxmi Barik (Odisha), Sheetal Sharma (Delhi), Meerarani Hembram (Odisha), Sandhya Rani (West Bengal), Neha (Delhi), Priya Bansal (Delhi), Shikha Yadav (Delhi)
Indian Men’s Rugby Team: Vikhas Khatri – Captain (Haryana), Neeraj Khatri (Haryana), Deepak Punia (Haryana), Prince Khatri (Haryana), Mohit Khatri (Haryana), Ajay Deswal (Haryana), Surinder Singh (Services), Zosangzuala (Services), Paulsamy Uthaya Shankar (Services), Sukumar Hembrom (West Bengal), Rajdeep Saha (West Bengal), Jakir Hussain (Delhi)