Pictures by Bibhash Lodh, BS News Agency.
Bibhash Lodh, BS News Agency: The Indian women's football team did not get the opportunity to participate in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan. However, the Indian senior women's rugby sevens team got that opportunity. The entire rugby team, including captain Shikha Yadav of Delhi, vice-captain Dumini Marandi of Mayurbhanj, Sandhya Rai of Siliguri, dream of winning a medal at the Japan Asiad. The Indian women's rugby sevens team will participate in the Asiad at the Paloma Mizuho Rugby Stadium in Nagoya from October 1-3. India's opponents in Pool B are last year's champions China, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Shikha, Sandhya, Dumini are completing their final preparations at the Eastern SAI Centre in Salt Lake under the supervision of Coach Terence Joseph and Strength and Conditioning Coach Kiano Forei.
For the past three years, preparations have been underway at the Eastern SAI Centre for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with the aim of winning a medal. The Indian women's team did not achieve much success in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. It finished in seventh place. Six players from that team are also in the Japan-bound Asiad team this time. They are Shikha, Sandhya, Dumini, Kalyani Patil, Vaishnavi Patil, Mama Naik.
Shikha will complete her preparations at the SAI Centre till September 24. Although she did not get a good result in the last Asiad, Shikha is confident this time. In the presence of Eastern SAI Director Shivanand Mishra, captain Shikha said, "Our experience and confidence have increased in the last three years due to proper preparation. We will go to Nagoya with the dream of winning a medal, but not with extra pressure. Rather, we will fight on the field with the aim of giving our best in every match. We will move forward with the goal of winning. I know that every match is very challenging. Because the opponent is quite strong. But we are also physically and mentally prepared. Before going to Nagoya, we played several international tournaments. We have increased our experience by visiting Thailand and Sri Lanka. So I am optimistic that there will be good results this time.'
According to Kiano Forei, the strength and conditioning coach of the Indian senior women's rugby sevens team, the players' muscle strength has increased along with their fitness through regular practice. These Indian women's rugby players are capable of competing on an equal footing with players from any team.
The Indian senior women's rugby sevens team made its debut at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. They did not participate in the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games. They participated in the 2022 Asian Games and finished seventh. Now let's see if they can win a medal at the Nagoya Asian Games.