Bhubaneswar: Rugby India today announced the 26-member squad for the Indian Men’s Rugby team who will represent India at the Asia Rugby Championship (Div -3) at Jakarta, Indonesia from 24th to 30th June 2019. The squad trained and prepared for the championship at the Indian National Training camp held in Bhubaneswar from 10th to 22rd June. The players shortlisted to join the Indian National Training Camp were selected during the All India Division 1 and Division 2 tournaments which were held in Mumbai and Ludhiana respectively. In addition, there was a national pre training camp held in Sonipat, Haryana in March. The camps were supported by Rugby India, Department of Sports and Youth Services, Government of Odisha and KIIT.
This championship is one of the qualifier rounds for the 2023 Rugby World Cup to be held in France. The squad will be led by captain Vikas Khatri and face teams China and Indonesia. The winner of this tournament will get promoted to Asia Rugby Championship 2, next year.
Extending his best wishes for the upcoming championship, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Sport and Youth Services, Government of Odisha, Vishal K Dev , said, “I congratulate the players on their selection to the national team and wish them the very best for the championship. Popularity for Rugby is fast growing and it has been our constant endeavor to promote the sport and provide the best of infrastructure, training grounds and preparatory camps for players. The team under the guidance of expert coaches, underwent specialized training here in Bhubaneswar and are well prepared for their tournament.”
Speaking on the team composition, Chief Coach Hendrik ‘Naas’ Botha, said, “I am proud of our players. In the last few days at the preparatory camp they underwent extensive strength and conditioning training and have demonstrated great passion and commitment to advance their skills and this tournament could be a great platform to showcase them.”
The team departs on Sunday, 23rd June, 2019.
The following 26 players are selected from across India to represent the nation at the Asia Rugby Championship (Div 3) in Indonesia.
| 1) Vikas Khatri (Haryana) – Captain | 2) Mohit Khatri (Haryana) V. Captain |
| 3) Deepak Punia (Haryana) | 4) Prince Khatri (Haryana) |
| 5) Sourabh Dubal (Haryana) | 6) Anil Kumar (Haryana) |
| 7) Surender Joon (Haryana) | 8) Hitesh Dagar (Haryana) |
| 9) Pradeep Tanwar (Haryana) | 10) Ajay (Haryana) |
| 11) Monu Yadav (Delhi) | 12) Mukesh Mankotia (Delhi) |
| 13) Nitin Dagar (Delhi) | 14) Sujai Lama (Indian Army) |
| 15) Parvender Singh (Indian Army) | 16) Surinder Singh (Indian Army) |
| 17) Shokender (Indian Army) | 18) Jitendra Kumar (Indian Army) |
| 19) Suresh Kumar (Indian Army) | 20) Pappu Todkar (Maharashtra) |
| 21) Sukumar Hembrom (West Bengal) | 22) Akash Balmiki (West Bengal) |
| 23) Ajay Balmiki (West Bengal) | 24) Pratap Kundu (West Bengal) |
| 25) Suraj Prasad (West Bengal) | 26) Saranraj Shankar (Tamil Nadu) |
Head Coach– Hendrik ‘Naas’ Botha (South Africa)
Ast. Coach-Christiaan Wilhelm Buitendach (South Africa)
Strength and Conditioning Coach– Johannes Zacharias Brooks (South Africa)
Physio– Sumit Bhandari (Delhi)
FIXTURES
| DATE | KICK OFF TIME | VENUE | TEAM A | TEAM B |
| 23rd June | 02:30 pm (IST) | GBK Rugby Field | Indonesia | China |
| 26th June | 02:30 pm (IST) | GBK Rugby Field | India | China |
| 29th June | 02:30 pm (IST) | GBK Rugby Field | India | Indonesia |
Comments are closed.