India rugby is entering one of its most important weeks in recent history as we go for Asia Rugby Emirates U-18 7s
On September 13-14, 2025, the nation’s U-18 Boys and Girls squads will compete at the Asia Rugby Emirates U-18 7s Championship in Hohhot, China, a tournament that represents far more than just medals or rankings. It is a litmus test for India’s newly formalized rugby development structure, a chance to measure whether years of investment in grassroots, age-grade pathways, and professionalization are beginning to bear fruit.
Unlike one-off youth tours of the past, this tournament is embedded in a structured continental calendar. Asia Rugby now runs parallel U-18 and U-20 competitions, giving players a clear progression ladder. India’s participation in both reflects a deliberate strategy by the Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to build continuity, ensuring athletes graduate smoothly from age-group rugby into senior squads.
The 2025 edition is especially important. India’s U-20 Women recently secured a bronze medal in Rajgir, Bihar, reinforcing the growing reputation of the women’s program. For the U-18s, the challenge is to show that the pipeline is working consistently across both genders.
The Competitive Pools
The draw has been unforgiving, setting up early challenges for both squads.
- Boys’ Team in Pool A: India will face Hong Kong China, China, and Qatar. Hong Kong and China are established powerhouses, which means India’s matches here will serve as an exacting benchmark. Improving on the 8th-place finish from 2023 is the minimum expectation.
- Girls’ Team in Pool D: India face Malaysia, Japan, and Uzbekistan. The Japan clash is the standout fixture—an acid test against a nation with a strong rugby pedigree. For India, who have won back-to-back silvers in 2021 and 2022 and finished 4th in 2023, the goal is clear: return to the podium.
As Boys’ captain Bidyadhar Majhi put it, “We are ready for the challenge. Playing against top nations is how we raise our game.”
The Squads: Blending Experience and Fresh Faces Boys’ Team
The 12-member squad is a thoughtful mix of newcomers and players with U-20 experience.
- Captain: Bidyadhar Majhi (Odisha)
- Vice-Captain: Sagar Prakash (Bihar)
First-timers like Pushpender, Pranav Vilas Gavit, Arun Prajapat, Priyanshu Kumar, and Attma Murmu reflect the depth of talent emerging from grassroots competitions. At the same time, six players—Ajit Nag, Bharat Kisan, Charan Hembram, Goldan Kumar, Shivam, and Sagar Prakash have already featured in U-20 squads, bringing much-needed exposure and leadership.
Majhi himself embodies India’s rugby pipeline. A product of the KISS Academy in Bhubaneswar, he has won medals at the Junior Nationals and Khelo India Youth Games. His rise from local tournaments to national captaincy at 18 shows how structured programs are now fast-tracking talent.
Girls’ Team : The girls’ squad mirrors this balance.
- Captain: Anshu Kumari (Bihar)
- Vice-Captain: Muskan Piploda (Rajasthan)
New faces like Anita Murmu, Sushila, Anushka, Samruddhi, and Raimani Murmu will gain their first international experience, while seasoned names such as Aarti Kumari, Alpana Kumari, Mamali Singh, Anshu Kumari, and Muskan Piploda return after U-20 stints.
The rise of Anshu Kumari, confirmed as Bihar’s rugby standout despite some confusion with a Kho Kho player of the same name, underlines the rapid progress possible within India’s revamped pathways. In just two years, she has risen from state-level competitions to captaining her country.
Guiding Hands: Coaching Teams
The coaching setups reflect a hybrid approach international expertise combined with Indian insight.
- Boys: Head Coach Samuel Myres, a former Australian 7s player, is joined by assistant coach Vahbiz Bharucha, ex-India captain. Myres adds technical refinement from a rugby stronghold, while Bharucha bridges cultural understanding and player psychology.
- Girls: Head Coach Kiano Fourie is supported by Arun Dagar, ensuring similar dual benefits of external high-performance standards and domestic grounding.
This model aims not just at results in Hohhot but also at grooming the next generation of Indian coaches.
The squads’ very composition reflects the growing maturity of India’s rugby ecosystem. Players were shortlisted from the Khelo India Youth Games 2025 (Patna) and the Junior Nationals 2025 (Dehradun), events that now act as the backbone of the talent pipeline.
Bihar’s “golden sweep” at the Junior Nationals winning both boys’ and girls’ U-18 titles demonstrates what consistent grassroots investment can achieve. The KISS Academy, which produced multiple national call-ups, stands as a model for how institutions can fuel the sport’s growth. Equally transformative has been the launch of the Rugby Premier League (RPL) in June 2025. By creating a franchise-based professional platform, the RPL has given young athletes a genuine career pathway.
Salaries, exposure to international stars, and game time under pressure make it a vital bridge between youth rugby and senior competitiveness. The RPL’s success has also improved India’s reputation globally—Asia Rugby even cited it as a factor in awarding hosting rights for the U-20 tournament earlier this year.
Historical Benchmarks and Future Goals
- Girls’ Rugby: Consistency is the key narrative. Podium finishes in 2021 and 2022, a strong 4th in 2023, and the U-20 bronze in 2025 suggest India’s women are on the cusp of breaking into Asia’s elite. A medal in Hohhot would reinforce that trajectory.
- Boys’ Rugby: Here, the challenge is steeper. An 8th-place finish in 2023 left plenty of room for improvement. With better preparation, U-20-experienced players, and stronger institutional backing, 2025 is the chance to show tangible progress.
This tournament is about validation. For years, rugby in India was a fringe pursuit, dependent on sporadic individual efforts. Now, with structured pipelines, professional leagues, and international coaching, the sport has infrastructure and vision. The Asia Rugby U-18 7s in Hohhot will reveal whether this vision is translating into performance. A strong showing will affirm that India’s rugby system is on the right track. Struggles, on the other hand, will highlight areas needing urgent refinement before players graduate into senior squads.
As India’s U-18 Boys and Girls prepare to take the field in Hohhot, they carry more than just their jerseys they carry the weight of a nation’s rugby ambitions. For the boys, the challenge is to prove growth and resilience. For the girls, it is to maintain a reputation of consistency and edge closer to a continental breakthrough. Whatever the outcomes, this tournament is a milestone. It reflects how far Indian rugby has come, and how much further it aims to go. The seeds planted through grassroots programs, academies, and professional structures are now being tested on the international stage.
The Asia Rugby Emirates U-18 7s 2025 will not just measure wins and losses; it will measure progress, resilience, and the promise of a new generation ready to push Indian rugby into its next era.
