Defending champions Odisha women settled for the silver medal in the 12th Senior National Rugby 7s Championship as they finished runners-up after losing to Bihar 12-21 in the final at Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium in Guwahati, Assam today. Bihar bagged the gold, Maharashtra claimed the bronze medal.

Earlier in the semifinals, Odisha demolished Delhi 38-0, while Bihar blanked Maharashtra 41-0. The 12-member Odisha women team reached the semifinals, outclashing Karnataka in the quarterfinals 61-0.

Led by international Dumuni Marndi, Odisha women beat Uttar Pradesh 47-5 and Chhattisgarh 66-0 in their two Pool-A league matches to qualify for pre-quarterfinals where they trounced Chandigarh 52-0.

However, a request to share the players list of Odisha teams was ignored by the Odisha Rugby Football Association, which is headed by former Bhubaneswar (North) MLA Priyadarshi Mishra and Upendra Kumar Mohanty as president and secretary respectively.

Barring Dharitri, no Odia newspaper also cared to publish the full players list of the Odisha women team. The two-day womens championship will be followed by mens competition at the same venue on April 27 and 28.

ODISHA WOMEN TEAM: Lilmuni Hansdah, Geetarani Sai, Tarulata Naik, Mama Naik, Sunita Hansdah, Sandhyarani Tudu, Puspanjali Bhoi, Dumuni Marndi (Captain), Ranjita Naik, Kabita Kasturi Padihari, Arati Murmu, Barsarani Majhi. Coach: Raj Kishore Murmu, Manager: Sunita Barma, Physiotherapist: Soumyasri Mishra.
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PHOTO: Players, coach and physio of the Odisha women team pose with the runner-up trophy and silver medals at the 12th Senior National Rugby 7s Championship in Guwahati on 24 April 2025.