Bhubaneswar [Odisha], September 22 (ANI): Rugby India in conjunction with the Government of Odisha and other partners on Wednesday felicitated and honoured the Indian U18 Girls Rugby team for winning silver at the Asia Rugby U18 Girls Rugby Sevens Championship 2021 held at Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

A total of five countries from across Asia - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, United Arab Emirates (UAE), India and the hosts, Uzbekistan, vied for top honours at the championship.

At the felicitation ceremony, the Government of Odisha, Rugby India and supporting partner Blade Urban Air Mobility (India) announced cash rewards (ranging from 4 to 5 lakhs per partner) to the Indian U18 Girls Rugby team and Coaches for their stellar achievement.

The total purse of bonuses comes to approximately 15 lakhs for the 15 person squad. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also acknowledged and applauded this effort of the Indian U18 Rugby team at the event through a video message.

The felicitation ceremony was held at Odisha State Convention Centre, Lok Seva Bhavan, Bhubaneswar and the eminent dignitaries present were, Tusharkanti Behera, Minister of SportsYouth Services, Government of Odisha, Achyuta Samanta, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, KandhamalFounder, KIIT and KISS, R. Vineel Krishna, IAS, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, SportsYouth Services, Government of Odisha, Vikram Ahuja, President, Indian Rugby Football Union, Rahul Bose, Actor, Director, Writer, Philanthropist and Board member of Rugby India and Priyadarshi Mishra, President, Odisha Rugby Football Association.

The Indian U18 Girls Rugby team is supported by Societe Generale (financial partnersofficial bank), Government of Odisha and Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology- KIIT (high-performance partners), BLK (match kit partner), FastUp (nutrition partner), Blade Urban Air Mobility (India) and Abhinav Bindra Targeting Performance (ABTP) as associate partners.

Tusharkanti Behera said, "The team has made us all extremely proud with their performance and victory. I commend each one of them who at such a young age put up a stellar show in an international tournament. This success is a fantastic opportunity to expose the players to next level competitions both at national and international stage and to groom them into the finest players from the country. As always, Odisha will continue to support the teams along their journey."Speaking on the occasion, Vikram Ahuja said, "Heartiest congratulations to the Indian U18 girls' Rugby teamCoaches for the commendable performance they showcased at an international level and made India proud! Odisha is standing true to their commitment of promoting sports and nurturing sporting talent. We are truly grateful to the Government of Odisha, Societe Generale and Blade Urban Air Mobility (India). Our deepest thanks to all our partners KIIT, KISS, FastUp and ABTP for their commitment and kind support towards strengthening the National Rugby Teams to ensure performance excellence at the international level."Rahul Bose said: "Our players will always remain at the heart of Indian Rugby. The generous financial bonuses from sponsors and partners to our U18 girls squad will boost not just this team's morale but have an incredibly positive effect across all our national teams. It will encourage them to perform even more fiercely at the international level and win accolades for the country. Congratulations to our U18 Girls team for bringing home the silver medal." (ANI)