Asia Rugby Regional Olympic Qualifier 2023: Indian teams fail to qualify for Paris 2024

The men’s and women’s Indian rugby teams failed to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics at the Asia Rugby Regional Qualifier 2023 held at the Yodoko Sakura Stadium in Osaka, Japan over the weekend.

The Indian men’s rugby team finished seventh with a 12-7 win over Singapore in the classification match. The Indian women’s rugby team lost the plate final 39-0 to Kazakhstan. 

Only the top team qualified for rugby at the Paris 2024 Olympics from Osaka while second and third-placed teams will play in the final Olympic qualification tournament in 2024.

The Japanese women’s rugby team qualified for the Paris Olympics by defeating the Republic of China 21-14 in the final. Hong Kong China blanked Thailand 12-0 for third place. The men’s final will be held later in the day.

The Indian women’s rugby team finished third in four-team Pool E. The team got the better of Guam 28-21 but a 62-0 loss to China and a 29-5 defeat to Hong Kong China put India out of contention. 

The top two teams from the group qualified for the semi-finals. Third-placed India made it to the plate final while Guam qualified for the plate semi-final against Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan ousted Guam and then beat India 39-0 in the plate final. 

The Indian women’s team finished seventh at the Asian Games 2023 in China last month. The team also won a silver medal at the Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy 2023 earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the Indian men’s rugby team, who did not feature at the Asian Games, had its task cut out in tough Pool A. India lost 50-0 to heavyweights Japan, 41-7 to China and suffered a 43-0 loss to the Republic of Korea. India, however, beat Singapore 12-7 for seventh place to avoid a wooden spoon.

Both Indian men’s and women’s rugby teams have never qualified for the Olympic Games.