Bhubaneswar: The Indian U-18 girls started on a resounding note as they thrashed UAE 22-5 in the lung opener of the Asian Rugby Sevens Championship here at the Kalinga Stadium, Friday.
The UAE girls had the advantage in terms of height and physicality compared to the hosts but that seemed to be a little concern for the Indian girls as they produced a dominating display right from the start picking up gaps and foxing their opponents throughout the match.
India put their first point on the board in the opening minute itself with Sweety Kumari producing a darting run through the right flank to reach the touchline. The Indian defenders LIja Sardar, Soni Mandangi, Sandhya Rai also deserve equal credit as they thwarted every UAE attack much to the delight of team mentor Rahul Bose and Asian Games gold medallist Swapna Barman who were present by the sidelines.
Speaking after the match, Indian coach Leudwiche Van Deventer said, “It’s definitely a positive start for our team. We really worked hard with our defensive structures standing like a rock. The moment we got the ball we utilised the opportunity with our speed and as you saw our girls tried their best to cover the whole field.”
Asked about, the next games against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka Saturday, Van Deventer was quick to respond, “There is no point in taking them lightly. We are taking one game at a time and hopefully we will win.”
