Rugby team leaves

After a successful exposure trip to South Africa, the Indian men’s national rugby team left on Thursday morning for the 2009 IRB Shanghai Sevens Tournament to be played in Shanghai on September 12 and 13.

The team will be competing on the field with nine other Asian teams, who are ranked on the basis of 2008 Asian Championship. India are paired with China and Chinese Taipei in Pool C. Other participating countries are Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Singapore.

The 12-member team will be led by captain Nasser Hussain. After rigorous training sessions at Stellenbosch University in Cape Town and at the Balewadi sports complex in Pune, the team is looking to put up some tough challenge to their Asian counterparts.

Hussain said: “It has been a hectic schedule for the team. Recently we came back from the South Africa, where the team practiced as well as played some league matches with the teams of Stellenbosch University. The team is in good form and is all ready to battle it out in Shanghai.”

Squad: Naseer Hussain (capt), Sukhdeep Singh, Amit Lochab, Rohit Sivach, Charanjit Singh, Nasser Hussain, Deepak Dagar, Gautam Dagar, Jena Bikash, Sujai Lama, Pritom Roy, Sendil Kumar, Vengatesan Arul, Coaches: Hendre Marnitz and Norman Laker; Physiotherapist: Sandeep Choudhari; Analyst: Kim Davey