‘Our motivation is playing the Olympics’

Images of beefy men jostling, pushing and shoving each other to gain ball possession is the best how a novice Indian can relate to rugby. It is a sport essentially meant for the tough. Although the Nehru Stadium was home to two ‘prestigious’ rugby tournaments in as many years, empty stands greeted the Asian teams when they walked out on hot and humid conditions. 

With countries fielding both men and women teams, it was a surprise to see Indian women take part in the Asian Rugby 7s tournament. Rugby for men was struggling for sponsors, exposure and when the idea of a women’s team was floated seven or eight years ago, people laughed it off. 

A friendly tournament between two clubs in Pune started the spark. Women could also play the tough sport. Former India international and women’s team coach Nasser Hussain said the sport has seen a tremendous growth in half-adecade. 

“Rugby, being a part of the National Games and School Games has helped the sport to grow immensely. It goes unnoticed that 24 or 25 states in the country have women’s teams. What’s more is, in states like Jammu & Kashmir women play with scarfs,” Hussain said. However, limited opportunities hamper the progress of the game. 

“The Indian women’s team play one national and one international tournament in a year in addition to two or three regional level tournaments. Lack of funds, sponsors and limited infrastructure dent the progress of the game,” added Hussain. 

For Vabhiz Barucha, captaining the women’s team is an honour. “A big motivation for all of us is the inclusion of the sport in the Olympics. Although it is a dream far from realisation, we know that the sport and women’s teams get recognition,” Barucha said. However, staking claim to an Olympic berth is a very tough ask. 

“Asia has only one berth in Olympics and 32 countries battle it out. India features eighth or ninth in Asia and has the potential to be third or fourth, but we need to be the number one which will take us there,” said Hussain. 

The team has taken every bit of their game in utmost seriousness and a 15-day national camp prior to the tournament helped them home their skills. “We trained at the Gateway International School that was home to excellent facilities. 

We trained for three sessions a day with focus on fitness and skills in the morning sessions. Technique and contact work was the agenda in the evening sessions,” Barucha said. The hardwork put in training paid off as India got the better of Nepal, Indonesia and tied with Guam in the series.