The Indian women’s rugby sevens team capped off another strong chapter in its growing continental journey, producing a series of commanding performances at the Asia Rugby Sevens Series 2025 (Colombo Leg).
Backed by a mix of consistency, pace, and structure, the team registered three wins in the leg against UAE (17–7), Indonesia (50–0), and Singapore (33–5) to ensure a second consecutive Top-6 finish in Asia’s elite rugby circuit. Led by head coach Paul Delport, a former Springbok Sevens international, India displayed both technical maturity and composure, proving that its debut top-tier season was no one-off success. The campaign in Colombo confirmed that India is no longer a developing participant it is now a stable force within Asia’s upper middle tier, consistently outperforming established nations like the UAE, Singapore, and Indonesia.
Building on Momentum: India’s Steady Rise
India entered the 2025 Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series as a debutant, ranked 10th in the expanded 12-team structure. But the team immediately announced its arrival with a 6th-place finish in Leg 1 (Hangzhou, China). That breakthrough was followed by a nearly identical campaign in Colombo, where India again finished sixth, showing competitive stability across different conditions and opponents.
The IRFU’s investment in structured preparation, enhanced fitness regimes, and professional coaching setups has paid clear dividends. What’s more, India’s performances in Colombo didn’t just maintain ranking stability — they showcased evolution in both attack and defense, closing gaps against mid-tier rivals and producing historically dominant wins against emerging nations.
Colombo Leg Match-by-Match Overview
India 17–7 UAE – Bhumika Opens the Account
India began their campaign against familiar opponents UAE, a team they had narrowly beaten 19–12 (after extra time) in Hangzhou. This time, however, there was no need for late dramatics. India executed a disciplined, controlled performance to secure a 17–7 victory, displaying sharper defensive organization and better game management. A key highlight was Bhumika Shukla’s try the former U20 India captain became the first Indian player to score in both legs of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series (Hangzhou and Colombo). Her seamless transition from age-group rugby to the senior setup underlines the effectiveness of India’s player development pathway.
The win also symbolized India’s tactical growth converting what had been a nerve-wracking finish in Leg 1 into a confident 10-point win against the same opponent. It set the tone for the team’s Colombo campaign.
India 50–0 Indonesia: A Historic Record
If the first match was about control, the second was about dominance. India decimated Indonesia 50–0, recording their biggest-ever win in the Asia Rugby Sevens Series and crossing the 50-point milestone for the first time in team history. From the opening whistle, the Indian women imposed complete control. Indonesia, playing their maiden top-tier season, “barely crossed the midline,” such was India’s territorial and physical superiority.
Kalyani Patil emerged as the standout performer, scoring a hat-trick of tries the first Indian player to do so in a single match in the Series. Her blistering runs on the wings, complemented by precise offloads from Shikha Yadav and disciplined ruck play from the forwards, demonstrated the team’s improved cohesion.
The match also highlighted India’s attacking efficiency: seven tries scored, zero conceded, and complete structural control a benchmark performance for the squad.
This emphatic win wasn’t merely a statistic; it reflected India’s growing tactical confidence, showcasing the results of months of fitness conditioning and attacking drills implemented under Delport’s coaching framework.
In the classification match, India overpowered Singapore 33–5, securing their third win of the leg and confirming another Top-6 finish in the overall Series standings as they lost to Kazakhstan in the 5th place playoff
The victory was notable not just for the scoreline but also for individual milestones. Kalyani Patil and Shikha Yadav both crossed for their fourth tries of the Series, equalling the mark set by Sandhyarani Tudu in Leg 1 (Hangzhou). This shared milestone is symbolic of India’s growing attacking balance where responsibility and impact are spread across multiple players rather than relying on one finisher.
Singapore struggled to contain India’s tempo as the side built multiple scoring phases with clean passing and aggressive breakdown work. The result reinforced India’s status as one of Asia’s most improved rugby sides in 2025.
While India’s campaign ended once again in 6th place, it is important to contextualize the progress. The team’s back-to-back narrow losses to Kazakhstan (10–17 in Hangzhou, 5–10 in Colombo) show that India is on the verge of breaking into Asia’s top five. The reduced margin of defeat in Colombo from seven points to five reflects defensive improvement and better game management. Yet, the inability to convert scoring chances against structured teams like Kazakhstan points to the next area of focus: execution in the final third.
Head coach Paul Delport has emphasized composure and systems discipline since his appointment, and the results are evident. Under his watch, India’s defensive organization has tightened, and their attacking transitions have become smoother. But to move from “competitive” to “contending,” the team will need to develop set-piece mastery and high-percentage finishing moves inside the opposition 22.
The Colombo leg was also a showcase of India’s evolving depth.
- Bhumika Shukla’s emergence as a consistent scorer reflects the strength of the U20 pipeline.
- Kalyani Patil’s hat-trick and overall four tries confirmed her as a key attacking weapon on the flank.
- Shikha Yadav, the captain, led with composure and balance, contributing both defensively and creatively in midfield.
The leadership group, supported by experienced forwards and the technical guidance of Delport, has instilled belief within the squad a quality that defines all successful sevens programs.
After two legs, India’s overall Series ranking at 6th places them firmly above the UAE (7th), Malaysia (8th), Singapore (10th), and Indonesia (12th). This consistency eliminates any relegation risk and confirms India’s place in the Asia Rugby Sevens top division for 2026. More importantly, it gives the IRFU a clear blueprint: to bridge the small but stubborn performance gap with Kazakhstan (5th), while building sustained competitiveness against teams like Thailand and Hong Kong China in the next cycle.
As Asia Rugby continues to use the Sevens Series as a qualification pathway to World Rugby’s HSBC SVNS Division 3, India’s exposure to such elite competition is invaluable. Regularly facing world-class opponents like Japan and China is accelerating the learning curve for a team that only two years ago was competing in the lower-tier Trophy events. India’s 2025 campaign in the Asia Rugby Sevens Series will be remembered as a season of consolidation and historic breakthroughs. The record 50–0 win over Indonesia, the repeat Top-6 finish, and the emergence of a new generation of try-scorers all mark the steady progress of a team that is maturing rapidly.
From narrow losses to continental contenders to commanding victories over developing sides, the Indian women have shown that they belong among Asia’s elite.
As they now turn toward the 2026 season, the mission is clear convert consistency into contention, and turn those narrow margins into podium finishes. The journey that began as a debut in Asia’s top flight has quickly evolved into something more substantial: the story of a team on the cusp of making Indian women’s rugby a permanent fixture among Asia’s best.
