KARACHI: Pakistan is among the seven countries invited to participate in the first Commonwealth Rugby Sevens Test Tournament being held in New Delhi on April 2 and 3.
The Pakistan Rugby Union (PRU) has, however, yet to receive clearance from the foreign ministry to travel to the Indian capital.
“Pakistan foreign ministry has not yet given us the green signal to travel to India and compete in the championship. But we are well prepared for the tournament and we can reach for the tournament in Delhi even if the foreign ministry gives us clearance a day before championship begins,” PRU Secretary Fawzi Khawaja told PPI.
Khawaja said that participating in international tournaments is always beneficial for the team as the players get exposure and learn a lot.
Apart from Pakistan and hosts India, Sri Lanka, Iran, Malaysia, Brunei, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will battle it out at the Commonwealth Rugby Stadium in Delhi University.
Fawzi added that their Indian counterparts were very excited to have them in India for the championship. “They have offered us multiple visas. So I think there will be no problem from the Indian side. However, we will have to wait and see what they (foreign ministry) decide.”
The tournament is scheduled to kick off with an India-Pakistan clash on April 2.
This will be the first international rugby sevens tournament to be held in India.
The teams will be divided into two pools in the preliminary stage from which they will advance into the semi finals and then finals. All conditions and requirements for a Commonwealth rugby game will be simulated for this test tournament. —PPI
Mohammed Abbasi 