Rugby: Pakistan’s dismal campaign ends

Rugby team finishes 15th at HSBC Asian Sevens Series in Mumbai.

KARACHI:

Pakistan could only manage a dismal 15th position, ahead of bottom-placed Afghanistan, at the HSBC Asian Sevens Series, which concluded yesterday in Mumbai, India.

Pakistan suffered a winless campaign, losing all three of their group matches. The side, led by Umer Butt, was pummelled by Chinese Taipei 45-0 in the first match and was outclassed by South Korea 38-7 in the second. In their last group match, Kazakhstan beat Pakistan 38-0.

Pakistan also suffered a couple of defeats in classification matches yesterday, including a 24-0 drubbing to home side India and another huge loss against Singapore 28-0. However, Pakistan avoided a bottom finish with a 10-5 win over Afghanistan, their only victory in the two-day event.

‘Injuries hurt Pakistan campaign’

Meanwhile, Pakistan manager Shakeel Ahmed said the team’s performance had some ‘positives’.

“Comparatively it was a better show,” Shakeel told The Express Tribune. “The top Asian teams were participating in the event and our players showed signs of progress. We had a hectic opening day after which some of our players got injured. Otherwise, we could have achieved a better position than this. But we are in a learning process and players learnt a lot from this exposure. The team’s participation in the event will help the players in future.”

The manager also gave a thumbs-up to the hospitality they received in Mumbai.

“There were no issues and we enjoyed our stay in Mumbai. The hospitality from the organisers was good.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2012.