National Games: Odisha women complete hat-trick of Rugby 7s gold medals

 Haryana men crushed Maharashtra, while Odisha women defeated Bihar in Rugby Sevens to complete a hat-trick of gold medals at the National Games here on Friday.

Haryana defeated Maharashtra 22-7 in men's summit clash, while Odisha thrashed Bihar 29-5 in the women's final to cover themselves in glory.

Maharashtra men tried gamely to challenge Haryana, the most dominant team on the national circuit, levelling the scores at 7-7. But Haryana stepped up the pressure to beat Maharashtra for the third successive time in the National Games final.

Odisha women posted their most authoritative win in the final, surpassing the 22-0 victory over Maharashtra in 2022 in Ahmedabad.

Bihar, who had kept Odisha down to 12-7 in the final in Goa, were unable to make an impression on the most formidable women's team in the country until rather late in the match.

Odisha, reeling from the defeat by Maharashtra in the semifinals, were slow off the blocks in the men's bronze-medal playoff against West Bengal.

It was not until they had conceded two tries that Odisha found their rhythm. From 0-10, they stepped on the pedal to open up a 26-10 lead, giving West Bengal no chance of breaching their defence.

In the women's bronze-medal playoff, Delhi trailed Maharashtra for the longest time after conceding a try in the opening minute. They managed to swing the pendulum the other way with great effort late in the first half and early in the second. Maharashtra broke Delhi's resolve in the final three minutes to walk away with the medal following a 17-10 victory.

With PTI Inputs