The Indian Women's Rugby team will compete in the Asia U-20 Girls Rugby 7s Championship to be held in Hong Kong on August 4 and 5.
Led by Mumbai girl Ruchi Shetty, the team has 12 members, four each from West Bengal, Odisha, three from Maharashtra including Shetty and one from Delhi.
Teams from China, Thailand, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Singapore and hosts Hong Kong will take part in the tournament, it was announced here today.
The team, coached by Rehmuddin Shaikh from Mumbai, is supported by Societe General.
General Manager of Rugby India Nasser Hussain said, "The tournament will be held in round robin format."
"This is a build up to 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. It is going to be difficult, there are going to be tough teams. We have stiff opposition in the likes of hosts Hong Kong, China, they are pretty established women's and are in the circuit for a long time," Hussian said.
Skipper Shetty admitted that the tournament will be a "tough affair" as there are some strong team in contention.
"We will definitely aim to win the tournament and our focus will be on skills, for which we have prepared going into the tournament," said Shetty.
Another Mumbai girl Gargee Walekar, who was part of India U-18 girls rugby team in recently held Paris World Games, echoed similar feelings.
Walekar, a forward, said the team lacks in size when compared to other teams which are in the fray, and would focus on using field and avoiding contact with opposition players.
"The teams were stronger in Paris (World Games). This time we are planning to give our best in tackling," she said.
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