Photo Caption: The Indian Women’s Rugby XVs team participating in the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship – Division 1 Rugby XVs to be held at the Queenstown Stadium, Singapore from June 2-8, 2018.
Skipper Bharucha confident India will make a memorable debut in Asian Rugby XVs
Mumbai May 30: Vahbiz Bharucha, captain of the Indian Women’s Rugby XVs team, is confident of a good showing from her girls and believes that the Indian team will make a memorable debut in the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship – Division 1 Rugby XVs to be held at the Queenstown Stadium, Singapore from June 2-8, 2018.
India, Philippines and hosts Singapore will face off in a Triangular Series and battle for top honors at this championship. Like India, Philippines and Singapore are also making their debut.
“The team has been put through a, three and a half weeks, strenuous training camp at the Bombay Gymkhana in Mumbai. The team has a considerable amount of experience and all the players are pretty positive. The girls have the fire burning inside them and they are really strong and eager to perform well. Another positive aspect is that a majority of the girls have international experience, having played in various Rugby 7s events around the world,” pointed out Bharucha, who is one of the three Maharashtra players in the 26-member squad, during a meet and greet session with media persons on Wednesday.
Besides the three Maharashtra players, there are nine from Odisha, seven from Delhi, five from West Bengal and one each from Bihar and Goa.
Former India men’s captain Nasser Hussain of Maharashtra is the Head Coach, and will be assisted by Rehmuddin Shaikh also from Maharashtra. Shabrez Mukaddam of Maharashtra will accompany the team as physio.
Coach Hussain mentioned, “the team is upbeat and the girls are showing some positive energy and the hunger to learn. It’s good that some of the older players have come back to be part of the squad and now there’s a good mix of players, with youth and experience. The other two teams are also playing the 15s format for the first time, so nobody has any idea of what to expect from the others. But, paying Singapore in Singapore is going to be tough and that would be our first big test onJune 2.”
The Indian 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.
The following 26 players are selected from across India to represent the nation at the Inaugural Asia Rugby Women’s Championship (Div I) in Singapore.
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1) Vahbiz Bharucha(Maharashtra)- Cap
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2) Neha Pardeshi (Maharashtra)
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3) Saloni Prachande (Maharashtra)
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4) Claudia Crizzle (Goa)
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5) Hupi Majhi (Odisha)
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6) Laxmipriya Sahu (Odisha)
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7) Meerarani Hembram (Odisha)
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8) Bhagyalaxmi Barik (Odisha)
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9) Sanjukta Munda (Odisha)
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10) Subhalaxmi Barik (Odisha)
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11) Sumitra Nayak (Odisha)
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12) Parbati Kisku (Odisha)
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13) Rajani Sabar (Odisha)
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14) Suman Oraon (West Bengal)
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15) Sandhya Rai (West Bengal)
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16) Swapna Oraon (West Bengal)
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17) Chanda Oraon (West Bengal)
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18) Sangeeta Bera (West Bengal)
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19) Namita Bhoj (Delhi)
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20) Priya (Delhi)
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21) Neha (Delhi)
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22) Priya Bansal (Delhi)
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23) Jyoti Choudhary (Delhi)
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24) Ann Mathew (Delhi)
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25) Himani Dutt (Delhi)
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26) Sweety Kumari (Bihar)
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Coach- Nasser Hussain (Maharashtra)
Ast. Coach- Rehmuddin Shaikh (Maharashtra)
Physio- Shabrez Mukaddam (Maharashtra)
FIXTURES
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DATE
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KICK OFF TIME
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VENUE
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TEAM A
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TEAM B
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2nd June
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14:30 (IST)
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Queenstown Stadium
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Singapore
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India
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5th June
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14:30 (IST)
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Queenstown Stadium
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India
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Philippines
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8th June
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16:30 (IST)
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Queenstown Stadium
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Singapore
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Philippines
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