Pune youth in India's rugby team

PUNE: After the Pune girls showed their strong presence in Indian rugby, a city boy - Siddharth Lolayekar (21) - is breaking new ground. Siddharth has made it to the 24-member Indian team, which will take part in the Asian Five Nations (Div-2) tournament in Thailand from May 4 to 7. The team will play their opening match against Thailand. The other teams in the second division are Chinese Taipei and Iran.
Siddharth is a product of Kfandra club and now plays under the Rugby Football Sports Pune (RFS, Pune). Siddharth, along with Aditya Pagey and Vijay Choudhary, had completed Pune's representation in the 34-member probables, who attended a 10-day selection camp at Ahmednagar.
"I am delighted to know that I had made the cut," said Siddharth, a commerce student from MMCC. "I am on cloud nine. I will remember this day for the rest of my life. All my hard work has finally paid off."
Wearing India colours is not new to Siddharth, who was part of the 24-member squad in the Asian Five Nations U-20 meet at Laos last year.
"His performance there paved the way for his selection in the probables," said India coach Sandeep Singh. "He is a versatile player and can be an effective flanker. And the important thing is he does not shy away from challenges and a keen learner."
Surhud Khare, president of RFS, Pune, reiterated the same and said that Siddharth deserves this opportunity. "He is a bright lad, physically strong and equally athletic," Khare said.
Besides Siddharth, there are a few new faces in the squad.
Singh, who was earlier the coach of the women's team, said: "Our main focus during the camp was to attain better levels of fitness. During the Commonwealth Games, it was observed that the players' fitness levels were not up to the mark."
Singh will coach Team India for the first time in an international meet.
Squad: Saukhinder, Paramjeet Singh, Kuljit Singh, Devender, Daya, Dalvinder Singh, Sam, Surinder Singh, Amit Lochav, Nasser Hussain (captain), Siddharth Lolayekar, Surinder Jena, Dama, Jagga Dagar, Avinash, Sujay Lama, Gautam Dagar, Rohit, Bhikas Jena, Shamsher, Pulkit, Dinesh, Shanvaz Ahmed, Chotu, Sandeep Singh (coach), Manas Kumar (manager).