Bose on RPL & its vision

If this sport becomes one of the top five sports in a child’s imagination, in creating a career, if we can get that (top-five sports), that will be a phenomenal outcome. It won’t happen in a year. It will happen in a few years. We have to be prepared to also create a pathway. If the child says, ‘mum, dad, I want to play rugby,’ we have to provide the facilities for, ‘where do I go to play rugby?’ If I’m in a village or I’m in the middle of Jaipur, we have to be prepared to give them that. And what the RPL will do is create the financial reason to make rugby a (full-time) career.

On India’s prospects in Asiad & CWG next year

The women are ranked 10th out of 36 nations in Asia. The men are ranked 15th out of 36 nations in Asia. At the last Asian Games (in Hangzhou, 2022), only seven teams competed in the women’s (category).We were seventh. In the men’s (category), the government had said if you’re not in the top-eight as a team sport in Asia, you will not travel for the Asian Games. In 2026 (for the women’s team), we are hoping that the field will be bigger. If it is the same field, our realistic objective would be seventh, sixth and fifth. To get to the top-two or top-three in Asia, it will take us four to five years. The federation’s audacious dream is to be in the Olympics in 2032 for the women and 2036 for the men. And if we do that, we’ll be the first team sport after hockey in 80 years that would have made the Olympics for India. (Cricket will make its return on LA 2028)