The Indian U18 Rugby Girls Squad returned proud after finishing at Second Place and winning the Silver medal at the Asia Rugby U18 Girls Rugby Sevens Championship which was recently hosted at Tashkent, Uzbekistanon the 18th and 19th of September. A total of five countries from across Asia including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, United Arab Emirates (UAE), India and the host- Uzbekistan vied for top honors at the championship.
The Indian team faced a tough nut in Kazakhstan in their first game and went down fighting by a score of 10-12. However, the tide changed for them as they went on to win the next game by conquering Kyrgyzstan by a whopping 63-0. The victory provided the major boost they needed as they went on to win the next game against home team Uzbekistan 20-5. India locked horns with UAE for their final match of the league round. UAE got the better of the Indian team as they trounced them by 20-5. Fortunately, the wins were enough for India to qualify for the semi-finals where they faced their first opponents Kazakhstan. This time around, the Indian girls put up a brave face and defeated them by a comprehensive 24-7 on the board. The Indian team now faced UAE in the grand finale. The game went down to the wire as the Indian girls went every inch to win the tournament. However, the effort was not enough and India fell short by 3 points after UAE won the final by 21-17.
Lavanya Adusumalli was a part of the Indian Squad that travelled to Uzbekistan for the tournament. Lavanya is the 6th player to perform at the International stage from St. Mary’s Convent, Mulund. She also is the 2nd youngest player to have travelled with the Indian squad. The U18 camp was held for nearly a month from 14th August 2021, where three girls from St. Mary’s Convent Lavanya Adusumalli, Adhira Albert and Niyati Mehta were selected. Adhira and Niyati went as far as the final round before being deselected for the main squad.
Lavanya, along with Adhira Albert and Niyati Mehta are products of the Mumbai Strikers Performance Academy and are an integral part of the Mumbai Strikers Women’s Rugby Team. They train under the exemplary and impeccable mentorship of coaches Rohit D’Souza and Shikha Thakkar. Rohit & Shikha have been instrumental in the upbringing and molding of the three girls. The coaches have left no stone unturned in nurturing the girls on and off the field. Shikha herself is an avid rugby player and has represented the MS Women’s Rugby Team at several tournaments.
Mumbai Strikers SC extends its congratulations to the U18 Indian Girls Rugby team, Coach Hendrik ‘Naas’ Botha and Ludwiche Van Deventer and the entire staff of Rugby India for achieving this accolade.