MUMBAI: The Indian men's Rugby team, led by skipper
Gautam Dagar
, defeated Pakistan 14-12 to secure the 7th rank at the
Asia Men's Rugby Sevens Trophy
held at
Aspire Rugby Field
in Doha, Qatar.
The team participated under the aegis of the
Indian Rugby Football Union
(
IRFU
), the governing body for the sport of Rugby in India, and is supported by
Societe Generale
, the financial partner of
Rugby India
.
A total of 11 countries from across Asia including Singapore, Pakistan, Jordan, Philippines, Nepal, UAE, India, Thailand, Iran, Bangladesh and the host Qatar vied for top honours in the Asia Men's Rugby Sevens Trophy, which was held on Friday and Saturday.
Rivals India and Pakistan side by side. Sums up a great 7s tournament in Doha this weekend. (Twitter Photo)
Rivals India and Pakistan side by side. Sums up a great 7s tournament in Doha this weekend. (Twitter Photo)Philippines won the Asia Men's Rugby Sevens Trophy and secured a place in the Asia Rugby Sevens Series, which will feature three legs and will be played between 1st September to 14th October 2017.
In the first round on day one, India were beaten by UAE twice by 19-12 and 45-0 respectively.
On day two in the cup quarter finals, India lost to Singapore by 19-7 and in the 5th & 6th placing semi-final India lost to Iran by 17-5.
In the last match, Indian team defeated Pakistan by 14-12 and secured a 7th rank in the tournament.
Speaking on the occasion
Mahesh Mathai, Secretary General, Rugby India said, "Our men's team tried their best in this tournament. We are taking back learnings from here and we will work harder towards improving the team's performance for the forth-coming international championships."