India name 13-member women's rugby sevens squad for Asian Games

India on Monday named a 13-member senior women's rugby sevens squad for the 2026 Asian Games, with Shikha Yadav appointed captain.

The rugby sevens competition will be held from October 1 to 3 in Nagoya, with India drawn in Pool B alongside defending champions China, Hong Kong China and Malaysia.

India made its Asian Games debut in women's rugby sevens at the 2010 Guangzhou Games but missed the 2014 and 2018 editions. The team returned at Hangzhou in 2022 and finished seventh.

Six members of the Hangzhou squad have been retained, providing continuity as India makes its second successive appearance at the continental multi-sport event.

Besides captain Shikha, the returning players are Sandhya Rai, Mama Naik, Dumuni Marndi, Kalyani Patil and Vaishnavi Patil.

The team heads into the Asian Games after a year of regular international competition, including its second consecutive season in the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series.

India finished sixth in the opening round of the 2026 series in Suzhou, matching its position from the previous year.

"The Asian Games is an important opportunity for this group and one that we have been building towards over the course of the season," head coach Paul Delport said.

"We know the level of competition we will face, and our focus has been on preparing the players to be consistent in our execution, stay composed under pressure and trust the work we have put in," he added.

Rugby India president Rahul Bose said the Asian Games remained an important platform for Indian athletes and highlighted the continuity from the Hangzhou edition.

"The Asian Games is one of the most important platforms for our athletes to represent India, and it is particularly significant for our women's Rugby Sevens programme as we return to the Games for the second time in succession," Bose said.

"The continuity from Hangzhou 2022 is encouraging, while the progress the team has made through regular international competition has been important to their development," he added.

The Indian squad is: Shikha Yadav (C), Dumuni Marndi (VC), Amandeep Kaur, Arti Kumari, Bhumika Shukla, Vaishnavi Patil, Guriya Kumari, Kalyani Patil, Mama Naik, Nirmalya Rout, Sandhya Rai, Sandhyarani Tudu and Ujjwala Ghuge.