Rugby Premier league helping us to rub shoulders with the best: Deepak Punia

The Punia surname in Indian sports ecosystem is normally identified with wrestling – thanks to the Olympic medallist Bajrang Punia’s exploits. However, Deepak Punia, one of the biggest rugby names in the country who even has a wrestler going by the same name - hopes to change all that.

The current vice-captain of the Indian rugby sevens team, who has been leading Delhi Redz team in the inaugural edition of Rugby Premier League (RPL) in Mumbai, is thankful that his sport now has it’s own franchise league and feels the exposure is going to help the Indian players in a big way. ‘’India’s next big event is the sevens Asia Trophy in Mongolia around October and the team hopes to benefit from the RPL experience. Last time, we had finished seventh among 12 countries but hope to improve this time,’’ remarked the 27-year-old from Haryana.

Speaking to National Herald in a telephone interview from Mumbai, Punia felt that the league is going to benefit them at different levels. As someone who has led the Haryana team to multiple titles, including a National Games gold, Punia said: ‘’Let’s face it, rugby is still an emerging sport in the country but a lot of youth are enjoying the RPL through some quality broadcasting. Meanwhile, our players are gaining in confidence by rubbing shoulders with some of the top sevens players in the world. It’s helping them to gauge as to where they stand in terms of physical ability, skills and game awareness with the top bracket.’’

Rugby Premier League: How actor Rahul Bose is leading a crusade in India

In a country like India where employment opportunities can be a sure hook for more youngsters to take to any sport excluding cricket, rugby is just beginning to find it’s feet. Asked about it, Punia – an employee of the Indian Postal Services in Cannaught Place in New Delhi – said: ‘’The process has just started with the Postal department, Income Tax building their own teams while  a number of other government entities are in the process of doing it. A few states like Odisha, Haryana and Punjab are also offering incentives to players for doing well.’’

Endorsing his view in an interview earlier, Rahul Bose, president of Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU) said they have started the outreach to government sector but admits that it’s a time-consuming process.

It was almost by chance that a young Punia switched to rugby as he was quite hooked onto cricket as a child. ‘’I hail from Kanoi village in Hisar district in Haryana, but shifted to Delhi where I used to accompany my elder brother for playing cricket at a local academy. It was a rainy day so the coach wanted us to engage in some tennis ball skills drill, after which he advised me to try my hand at rugby instead. Thankfully, I listened to him,’’ he said.

Khelo India: Bihar girls hope to carve a future after golden show in rugby

A teenager Punia joined Delhi Hurricanes Rugby Club in 2012 and his pursuit in serious rugby began there. ‘’The club played a big role in shaping my career and I feel the club culture in rugby is still lacking in the country. There are only few cities like Mumbai or Kolkata where it’s prevalent,’’ said the fly-half who has led India in both the sevens as well as the 15s rugby formats.

A serious injury had put a spanner in his career few years back but the strapping Punia is gradually getting back into his groove again. ‘’I am close to regaining my full fitness. Looking forward, there is a club tournament and the Asia Cup comes after that. It’s an important tournament for me at a personal level too,’’ he signed off.