Pune: Odisha recently bagged two silver medals in the 67th National School Games Rugby U-17 Championship with both the state boys and girls teams finishing runners-up at Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Maharashtra’s Pune.
This was the third medal for Odisha in National School Games Rugby Championships bagged on Sunday with the State U-19 girls team also securing a silver medal at the same venue earlier on April 24. Bihar captured both the gold medals, defeating Odisha 17-12 and 36-5 in the boys and girls finals respectively.
The two-day championship was organised by the Directorate of Sports & Youth Services, Government of Maharashtra, under the aegis of School Games Federation of India (SGFI).
The state U-17 boys and girls teams, featuring 12 and 11 players respectively, were fielded by Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE), Odisha. Rajkishore Murmu and Hupi Majhi accompanied the teams as coaches.
U-17 Boys & Girls School Rugby Teams:
Boys: Lakhan Hembram, Pradeep Kanhar, Nirmal Pradhan, Charan Hembram, Bidyadhar Majhi, Eswar Pujari, Rahul Majhi, Suraj Kumar Dora (all from KISS); Soner Singh Beshra, Simal Baskey, Deepak Behera (all from Mayurbhanj); Suraj Sahelsan Tudu (Bhubaneswar).
Coach: Rajkishore Murmu, Manager: Kiswar Kumar Lenka.
Girls: Raimani Chatar, Bidusmita Singh, Sanjukta Bhumij, Barasani Pradhan, Sandhyarani Biswal, Ranjulata Naik, Belamati Bhatra (all from KISS, Bhubaneswar); Sumitra Murmu, Basanti Murmu, Payal Hansdah, Mamata Murmu (all from Mayurbhanj).
Coach: Hupi Majhi, Manager: Kiswar Kumar Lenka.