The Pakistan Rugby team has arrived in Nepal to compete in the Asian Rugby Sevens Championship to be held this weekend.
Scheduled to take place in Kathmandu from October 4, 2024, the tournament will feature 14 teams who will be competing for a spot in the Asia Rugby Emirates Sevens Series which is to take place next year. The other teams taking part at the event in Kathmandu include Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Chinese Taipei, India, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Nepal, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan.
Pakistan’s squad is being overseen by head coach Van Drotterludoch Hermans from South Africa, with team manager and senior player Manan Naseem and team physio Mohammad Bin Zia also part of the contingent. The 12 players representing Pakistan are Syed Hussam Haider, Ammar Abbas, Fahad Khizr, Danish Ali, Khalid Hussain Bhatti, Tuqeer Ali, Wasim Abbas, Muhammad Afzal, Anjum Sajjad, Khurram Shehzad, Muhammad Mudassar, and Ahmed Wasim Akram. Voicing his confidence in the team, head coach Hermans said “The boys have trained hard and are ready to face the top teams in Asia. We expect a strong performance in this championship.”
The event will last a mere two days, with the Pakistan Rugby team expected to return to Lahore by October 7th.