BHUBANESWAR: The Indian U-18 women’s rugby team was accorded a grand welcome here at Biju Patnaik International Airport on Tuesday.
The team clinched a silver medal in the Asian Rugby U-18 Girls' 7s Championships at Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Sunday. The rugby events resumed almost after 18 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the nail-biting final, India lost 17-21 to the United Arab Emirates.
"Three of Odisha girls Mama Naik, Tarulata Naik and Nirmalya Rout were the members of the silver winning Indian team. Odisha government is supporting Indian rugby on a long-term basis. Our team reached here as it's their second home", said Odisha Rugby Football Association secretary UK Mohanty.
"After I joined rugby in 2017, It was my first international tournament and I am extremely happy that we won silver. The UAE girls are very different from us. They are physically strong and taller. But our team is technically strong and we are very fast," said Arati Kumari, the highest scorer of the championship.
"I was an athlete in my childhood. My events were 100 metre and long jump. I had won a gold medal in the state meet before switching to rugby. My sprinting ability helped me to score maximum tries for my team," said the 17-year-old Arati. Five teams — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, UAE, India, and hosts Uzbekistan — competed in the two-day tournament, which was played in a round-robin format with all teams playing each other. India started the tournament with a 10-12 defeat against Kazakhstan.
"A few silly mistakes cost us the first league match. After that loss, the girls understood their responsibilities and bounced back to win an international medal. I am happy with our team's performance, as they had only six weeks of national camp and they won an international silver medal", said coach Surajit Ghosh.
The Odisha Rugby Football Association President Priyadarshi Mishra, secretary UK Mohanty, Sports and Youth Services Department official Rajendra Pani and KIIT and KISS members were present at the airport to receive the victorious team.