India to play in Asia Rugby Men’s Division 2 Championship 2023

Published at :April 20, 2023 at 4:09 AM

Modified at :July 4, 2023 at 6:13 PM

Hosts Qatar and Kazakhstan are the other two teams in the competition.

India, Kazakhstan and Qatar will contest this year’s Asia Rugby Men’s Division 2 Championship in Doha, Qatar. The tournament will take place from April 30 to May 6, 2023 at the Aspire Warm-Up Track. It will get underway on April 30 (Sunday) with hosts Qatar taking on India.

India comes into the tournament having won the Asia Rugby Division 3 South which was held in Kolkata, India last year. They were dominant in the tournament, posting over 80 points in both matches, against Bangladesh as well as the debutant to the Asia Rugby Championship circuit, Nepal.

Following their clash against hosts Qatar, India will face another formidable opponent in Kazakhstan on May 3. Qatar and Kazakhstan will face each other in the last match three days later. The leaders at the end of the trilateral championship match will be crowned the winners.

Asia Rugby Men’s Division 2 Championship 2023 Schedule

30th April 2023 - 07:00 PM

Qatar vs India

03 May 2023 - 07:00 PM

India vs Kazakhstan

06 May 2023 - 07:00 PM

Qatar vs Kazakhstan

India's Squad

Akash Balmiki, Prabal Giri, Mohit Khatri, Harjap Sandhu, Deswal, Shivam, Rajdeep, Sukumar, Gaurav Chauhan, Hitesh Dagar, Deepak Punia, Prince Khatri, Pradeep Tanwar, Sahil Lamba, Shree, Suraj Prasad, Sanket, Neeraj Khatri, and Vikas Khatri Chotu.

India’s past performance

India along with Bangladesh and Nepal participated in the Asia Rugby Championships South from 19-25 November 2023. The host finished in the top spot which enabled them to qualify for the Asian Rugby Championships Division 2. Neither Bangladesh nor debutant Nepal featured in the men’s ranking list. India scored over 80 points in both matches against Bangladesh and Nepal, who were the debutant in the tournament.