National (7-a-side) Rugby Championship kicks off in Guwahati

Guwahati (Assam), Feb.8 (ANI): The second All India (7-a-side) Rugby Championship has begun in Guwahati. Twelve teams are participating in the event.

Teams representing Manipur, West Bengal, Orissa, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Assam are taking part.

"There are twelve teams participating in the tournament. Twelve teams always participate in a national tournament out of which eight teams will be selected and sent to Ranchi for the National Games. Seven teams and one host team will go there. The first seven teams will go to Ranchi for National Games," said Pradip Kumar, organizing secretary, National Rugby Championship.

Players participating in the championship said they were quite excited to be here.

"India has plenty of talented players. We just have to keep ourselves fit and practice a lot and we can easily beat international teams," said Salim Safi, a player from Jammu and Kashmir.

Rugby is a tough game of strength and stamina of British origin, played with a lieral oval-shaped ball. Traditionally, it is a game of 15-a-side and played for 80 minutes duration with a half time after 40 minutes.

Rugby features its own brand of physicality. There is tackling and a constant fight for the ball. Play doesn't stop unless the ball goes out of bounds or there is a penalty, which is rare.

The 7-a-side rugby is a shorter version of the game and this tourney in Guwahati will end today. (ANI)