Indian men crashed out before the quarterfinals, losing to two matches and drawing one in Group-B league. They lost to Japan 0-46 and UAE 14-35 before holding Singapore to a 12-12 draw.

A total of six players from Odisha, including four women, represented India in this tournament. The 13-member Indian women team featured Odisha players Dumuni Marndi, Mama Naik, Nirmalya Rout, Sandhyarani Tudu. The two Odisha players in the Indian men team were: Asis Sabar, Ganesh Mahi.

Five of the Odisha players are students of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar. Sandhyarani Tudu is from Future Star Sports Academy, Mayurbhanj.

Asia Rugby Sevens Series is an annual series of regional rugby sevens tournaments run by Asia Rugby featuring national sevens teams. It has been held regularly since 2009. The 2026 Series featured 12 national teams in both the men and women divisions, up from eight in past editions.

The Series will conclude with the Round-2 competition in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 17 and 18 October 2026. The two-round ARES Series will serve as preparatory tournaments for the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games in October.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS:

Men: Hong Kong China, Japan, Sri Lanka, China, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Kazakhstan, India, Uzbekistan.

Women: Japan, China, Thailand, Hong Kong China, Kazakhstan, India, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Iran.

INDIAN WOMEN TEAM (13): Amandeep Kaur, Arti Kumari, Bhumika Shukla, Chanel Crizzle, Dumuni Marndi, Guriya Kumari, Kalyani Patil, Mama Naik, Nirmalya Rout, Sandhya Rai, Sandhyarani Tudu, Shikha Yadav, Ujjwala Ghuge. Head Coach: Paul Delport.

INDIAN MEN TEAM (13): Ajay, Aryan Dixit, Aryan Dixit, Asis Sabar, Deepak Punia, Deshraj Singh, Ganesh Majhi, Hitesh Dagar, Javed Hussein, Karan Rajbhar, Mohit Khatri, Shivam Shukla, Shridhar Nigade, Sumit Roy. Head Coach: Paul Albaladejo.
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TOP: Five Odisha players from KISS (L-R), Ganesh Majhi, Asis Sabar, Dumuni Marndi, Nirmalya Rout and Mama Naik pose after getting selected for in the Indian teams for the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series 2026 (Round-1) on 25 August 2026.

RIGHT: File picture of Odisha woman rugby international Sandhyarani Tudu.