Top seeds Hong Kong and China advance in Goa Sevens rugby

Panaji: Top seeds Hong Kong and China finished at the top of their respective pools after day one of the Goa Sevens Rugby tournament on Saturday.

Hong Kong finished with 89 points in its three pool matches, conceding just 14, while China posted 100 points against 17 allowed. Hong Kong whitewashed Iran in its first match 41-0 before beating Singapore 26-7 and UAE 22-7 to complete its unbeaten opening run. China posted a 50-nil win over UAE Shaheen, a development squad of Asian and Olympic Games qualified Emirati players, before handing hosts India its second loss of the day 24-5 and edging Kazakhstan 26-12 after being level at 12 points apiece at the half. With the top spot in Pool B at stake, China’s player-coach Zhang Zhiqang, a veteran of many HSBC World Sevens Series tournaments entered the fray in the second half, immediately contributing to two tries that pushed China ahead for good at 26-12. Hong Kong will face UAE Shaheen while China meet Singapore in quarter final tomorrow. Kazakhstan, runners-up in Pool B will open tomorrow’s action against Iran while UAE, who finished as the runners-up in Pool A, will take on India tomorrow in another quarter final. PTI