By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 31 Jan: At the Ganga Athletics Stadium, Maharana Pratap Sports College, both the Haryana men’s and Odisha women’s rugby sevens teams achieved a historic hat-trick by winning the gold medal for the third consecutive time in the National Games. Haryana defeated Maharashtra 22-7 in the men’s final, while the Odisha women’s team triumphed over Bihar, 29-5.
The Haryana men’s team, entering the field with confidence as defending champions, dominated from the start. Maharashtra fought back, equalising the score at 7-7, but Haryana raised their game and secured their third consecutive National Games final win over Maharashtra.
The Odisha women’s team put on an outstanding performance in their final match, surpassing their previous win of 22-0 over Maharashtra in Ahmedabad in 2022. Bihar, who had limited Odisha to a 12-7 victory in the last edition held in Goa, could not maintain pressure this time and was defeated 29-5.
In the men’s bronze medal playoff, after losing to Maharashtra in the semifinals, Odisha’s men’s team had a slow start against West Bengal, trailing 0-10. However, they made a remarkable comeback, taking a 26-10 lead and denying West Bengal any chance of a recovery.
In the women’s bronze medal match, Delhi, after conceding an early try, gave Maharashtra a tough challenge for much of the match. Delhi tried to take the lead towards the end of the first half and at the start of the second half. However, Maharashtra turned the game around in the last three minutes, winning 17-10 to claim the bronze medal.
