Date:12/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/12/stories/2007121257792200.htm

Sport - Sports : General

Indian rugby team

KOLKATA: The Indian Rugby Football Union announced a 24-member team for the Asian Trophy under-19 championship under the captaincy of Ajmin Shahi Janitirkordy.

India has been placed in a strong group alongside Chinese Taipei, Arabian Gulf and Brunei. The tournament will be played in Brunei from Dec. 15 to 21. The winner of the group, which will be decided in a play-off following a round-robin league, will get a place in the under-19 World Cup, informed Noomi Mehta, a senior IRFU functionary.

The team, coached by former Fiji international Usaia Rokonai, consists pickings mainly from Armenian boys from the city, who dominate the country’s rugby scene.

There are some players from west and south. The selection will form the nucleus of the Indian team, which will participate in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. — Principal Correspondent