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CWG’10 experience gathering opportunity: Rugby captain

India Rugby captain Nasser Hussain is not eyeing any medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, but insists the Delhi event would be an experience gathering opportunity for the national team.

New Delhi: With Rugby yet to find a firm footing in the country, India captain Nasser Hussain is not eyeing any medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, but insists the Delhi event would be an experience gathering opportunity for the national team.
Hussain, skipper of India’s Rugby Sevens squad, fresh from a training camp at the Balewadi Sports Complex on the outskirts of Pune, feels they would take to the ground as “underdogs” in the quadrennial sporting extravaganza. “Realistically speaking, we have no medal hope. We will go into the tournament as underdogs, Will try to play some good game and win as many as possible,” Hussain said.“When the top 10 Rugby teams in the world belongs to the Commonwealth, one doesn’t expect much. We are ranked 83rd in the world, I don’t think we have much hopes in the event,” Hussain added. However, Hussain is far from amused with the condition in the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, where the national team has undergone a training camp recently.“It’s a shame that we don’t have a proper ground for practice and you talk about world-class facilities. We were training at Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune, which didn’t have a decent ground. Field is so hard that we regularly suffer cuts and wounds during practice,” Hussain said. “The ground is mediocre and I think, much infrastructural improvements have to be done to produce the desired results,” Hussain said. Hussain also advocated the need for more international outings, which, he feels, would add to the teams experience and thus improve their performance. “It’s very important to develop as a world-class team, we should play in more international tournaments. That will help in harnessing our skills,” he pointed out. On team’s performance at the Asian 7s Championship in China, Hussain said it was improved as well as disciplined and hoped to carry on the momentum in the Asian Championships later this year. “First time we played any international tournament with new coach, new structure, new fields. Although we started on a shaky note, later improved quickly as the tournament progressed,” Hussain said. “Standard was really high there, so you had to compete with major Asian powerhouses like China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Singapore. The tough competition certainly lifted our spirits,” he added. In the nine-team event, India were billed at the bottom of the seedings, but finished eighth, thanks to their all-round performance of late. The Indians will next participate in the All-India Club Championship in Pune from September 26-October 3 and then head for Brunei, where the Asian 7s series will be held from October 23-27. Bureau Report