LUKNOW: It’s quarter past four and the temperature is still 42 degrees Celsius. But this pack of girls on the grounds of Guru Gobind Singh Sports College is truly on fire as they hurl themselves at one another with aspeed that defies logic and with force that’s sure to rattle bones.
As Dumuni Marndi, 21, snatches the rugby ball and drafts towards the end zone, someone from the audience shouts in Marathi: “Ti mulagi usena boltsarakhi dhavali (that girl ran like Usain Bolt)!” Hailing from tribal- dominated Mayurbhanj, the largest district of Odisha, Dumuni was part of Indian women’s rugby team (senior) which won a silver medal in Asia Rugby Sevens Trophy held in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2022.