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 will feature 12 national teams in both the men and women divisions, up from eight in past editions.

The Series will consist of two legs. The Round-1 competition at Changshu Sports Centre, Suzhou City will be followed by Round-2 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.