Odisha bagged two silver medals in the 67th National School Games Rugby U-17 Championships with the both the State boys and girls teams finishing runners-up at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, Maharashtra on 28 April 2024.

This was the third medal for Odisha in National School Games Rugby Championships with the State U-19 girls team also securing 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, was fielded by Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE), Odisha. Rajkishore Murmu and Hupi Majhi accompanied the teams as coaches.

As many as 15 players from Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) represented the Odisha U-17 school teams, which also featured seven from Mayurbhanj district and one from Bhubaneswar.

ODISHA U-17 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.
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PHOTO: Players, coaches and manager of Odisha boys and girls U-17 rugby teams pose with their National School Games runners-up trophies in Pune on 28 April 2024.