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Host Odisha won the bronze medal in the U-15 girls competition of the 10th Sub-Junior National Rugby 7s Championship, which was held at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar on 16 and 17 January 2026. In the match for the third and fourth positions, Odisha beat Rajasthan 47-5.
Bihar won the gold medal, defeating defending champions Maharashtra in the final 34-7. For Bihar girls this was their fifth title win in the last six years. Champion Bihar team received the top prize Rs 5 lakh, while runners-up Maharashtra and second runners-up Odisha were given Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh respectively.
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Earlier in the semifinals, Bihar maintained their momentum with a commanding 35-0 win over Rajasthan, while Maharashtra came from behind to defeat Odisha 17-14. In the quarterfinals, Bihar crushed victory over Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu 43-7, overpowered Karnataka 55-0, Chandigarh went down 7-17 to Rajasthan and Maharashtra edged past West Bengal 24-5.
On their way to the quarterfinals, Odisha girls mauled Uttar Pradesh 35-0 in Round-1, Rajasthan 28-0 in Round-2 and Uttarakhand 68-0 in pre-quarterfinals. Department of Sports & Youth Services (DSYS), Government of Odisha is hosting the championship, in collaboration with Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and Odisha Rugby Football Association (ORFA).
The closing ceremony of the girls National was graced by DSYS Secretary Sachin Ramachandra Jadhav, Director Yeddula Vijay, Additional Secretary Bijaya Kumar Swain, IRFU president Rahul Bose, secretary Gerald Prabhu and ORFA president Priyadarshi Mishra.
According to Rugby India, the 24 girls teams produced approximately 1,800 points with as many as 112 individual scorers, highlighting the growing talent pool at the U-15 level. Sumi Gagarai of Odisha finished as the top scorer of the competition with 104 points, while Komal Kumari and Roshani Kumari of Bihar followed suit with 66 and 56 points respectively.
One disappointing aspect of the championship was that names of the players and support staff of the bronze-medal winning Odisha girls team was not disclosed by the DSYS or ORFA. Even repeated requests to share players list was ignored. This not only deprived the budding players of the much-needed public recognition, but also the opportunity to motivate themselves for their future endeavours.
This sort of non-cooperation of the authorities provided enough indications of foul-play in the players selection process. Is it true that the players list was kept secret in order to sell fake certificates and earn illegal money?
With the Girls U-15 tournament concluded, attention now turns to the upcoming Boys U-15 Championship, scheduled to be held on 20 and 21 January 2026.
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TOP: Players of Odisha girls team pose with officials of DSYS, IRFU and ORFA after winning bronze medal at the 10th Sub-Junior National Rugby 7s Championship in Bhubaneswar on 17 January 2025.
RIGHT: Players of Odisha girls team pose with their 2n d runners-up trophy, bronze medal and prize cheque at the 10th Sub-Junior National Rugby 7s Championship in Bhubaneswar on 17 January 2025.
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