But while Bharucha may jest that “boys get scared of me when I tell them that I am a rugby player,” for most the motivation to play the game is the same as for any other sportsperson—to win for the country. Which is why 20-year-old captain Sabade was more than stunned when she realised in Bangkok that the world was playing at a much higher level than them. “While playing our first match, we took an early lead and were on top of the world. But that changed in a minute when the opposition came right back, within minutes of the second half. We realised we had a long way to go”, says Sabade, who studies arts at Fergusson College.

How did the girls discover rugby? Credit that to an afternoon of rain and a coach who is a rugby enthusiast. On rainy days, when the field was too slushy for football, coach Khare would drag the girls out for a game of rugby. Since then, Sabade and her kind have been hooked. Though the team was cobbled together barely days before the Bangkok tournament, they have bonded well. “Team spirit was what pushed us in the game against Cambodia. One of the Cambodian players had the audacity to slap our player. It enraged us and provided that extra motivation to beat them,” says 20-year-old Ketaki Khare, a national bronze medallist in judo.

Then there’s Gayatri Salunkhe, the speedy winger, who scored all three tries in the game against Cambodia. Salunkhe was awarded a traditional hat from Uzbekistan and a scarf from the Laos camp in honour of her good performance.
The traditionally masculine game has taken its toll on the girls. While Avanti Ghaksasi broke her hand before the tournament, Surabhi tore her knee ligament on the second match of the tourney. “But isn’t that with every sport?’’ is all Neha Pardeshi, 15, the baby of the team, asks if you point this out. The diminutive figure is an excellent athlete and aspires to make it to the Indian athletics squad at the Commonwealth Games. “I would hate to choose between the two at this stage though. I love both equally,” she says.

... contd.