Asserting absolute supremacy througout the Junior National Rugby 7s Championship, Odisha U-18 Girls won the gold medal, trouncing host Maharashtra 50-0 in the final at Balewadi, Pune (Maharashtra) today. Odisha won six matches in a row to lift the trophy in the two-day championship.

Odisha avenged their last-year defeat against defending champions Bihar with a 22-17 win in the second semifinal earlier in the day. In the quarterfinals, Odisha blanked Uttarakhand 56-0.

Earlier at the league stage, Odisha beat Gujarat 55-0 and Jharkhand 34-0 to advance to the pre-quarterfinals, where they outclashed Haryana 52-0. The 12-member Odisha team was led by Nirmalya Rout.

Nirmalya was also the captain of the KIIT Deemed to be University women team that won the gold medal in the 3rd Khelo India University Games in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on 26 May 2023.

The Junior National Championship was hosted by Rugby Association of Maharashtra, under the aegis of Indian Rugby Football Union.

ODISHA TEAM: Parbati Hansdah, Sandhyarani Tudu, Nirmalya Rout (Captain), Barsarani Majhi, Mamali Singh, Barsa Sing, Ritu Majhi, Sarita Bariha, Swapnarani Sing, Sanjukta Bhumij, Geetarani Sai, Mamata Murmu. Coach: Sanjukta Munda, Manager: Niharika Panda, Physio: Soumyasri Mishra.
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PHOTO: Players of Odisha U-18 Girls Team pose with gold medal and trophy at the Junior National Rugby 7s Championship in Bhubaneswar before leaving for the National Sevens Championship in Pune on 6 June 2023.