Mahak Chauhan walked into a trial in 2023 thinking she was there for a race.
It turned out to be a rugby trial.
Three years later, the 20-year-old from Bhadrasu village in Uttarkashi stood out at the inaugural Central and South Asia Rugby 7s Championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Playing her first senior international tournament, she scored nine tries across two days and was named Women’s Player of the Tournament.
It was, by any measure, a debut to remember. What makes it extraordinary is the road that led there.
A wrong turn that changed everything
Mahak Chauhan grew up in Bhadrasu village in the Mori block of Uttarkashi, a mountainous district in the upper reaches of Uttarakhand where the Tons river cuts through thick deodar forests.
Like many young athletes from the hills, she had her sights set firmly on track and field. After completing Class 8, she moved to Dehradun to continue her studies and pursue more serious athletics training, the kind of structured, competitive environment that her village could not provide.
The rugby player from Uttarakhand made an unforgettable senior debut, helping India challenge the region’s top teams at CASA Rugby 7s.
It was in Dehradun, around three years ago, that an ordinary mix-up set her life on a different course. According to reports, Mahak went to Roorkee for what she believed was a trial for a race event. But it turned out to be a rugby trial.
She stayed anyway, and the coaches took notice. That accidental arrival at a rugby trial would eventually take her to a senior international tournament in Central Asia.
Learning rugby from scratch
Rugby sevens, the format that Mahak now competes in, is a condensed, high-intensity version of the sport. It includes seven players per side, seven minutes per half, demanding speed, decision-making, and physical courage in equal measure.
It is not a sport with deep roots in Uttarakhand, and resources and competition opportunities in the state have historically been limited.
Ayush Saini, treasurer of the Uttarakhand Rugby Association and coach of the state side, has been central to nurturing the talent that emerges from the region, and Mahak’s development sits within that ecosystem of local support.
In the three years since that accidental trial, Mahak worked her way through the ranks with a consistency that belied her lack of formal introduction to the game.
Mahak Chauhan’s award-winning performance highlighted the growing rugby talent emerging from the hills of Uttarakhand.
Before Tashkent, she earned a place in India’s Under-20 squad and represented the country at an international rugby championship in Malaysia, where the team returned with a bronze medal.
The senior call-up for CASA 7s followed, marking her transition from age-group rugby to the full national setup in the space of a single competitive season.
The performance that made the world take notice
The CASA Rugby 7s, organised under the framework of the Central and South Asia Rugby Alliance and sanctioned by both Asia Rugby and World Rugby, was a new competition bringing together six women’s teams: India, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.
India’s women’s team, featuring several young players identified through the domestic circuit and Senior Nationals, arrived in Tashkent as a side still finding its footing at the senior level.
What the team produced, particularly in its headline moments, went well beyond expectations. The most dramatic came against Sri Lanka, the eventual champions of the tournament.
India trailed going into the final minute and, with the scoreboard against them, Mahak crossed for a last-minute try to seal a remarkable 22-19 victory. It was the only defeat Sri Lanka suffered across the entire competition.
Mahak Chauhan scored the decisive last-minute try in India’s memorable victory over eventual champions Sri Lanka.
India ultimately finished fourth, losing a closely fought third-place playoff 14-20 against hosts Uzbekistan, but the performance against the champions underlined just how competitive this young team had become.
For Mahak individually, the numbers told a clear story. Nine tries in a two-day tournament is an exceptional return at any level of the game, and at a first senior international, it was the kind of contribution that left no doubt about her selection as Women’s Player of the Tournament.
What this means for rugby in the hills
India’s men’s team also had a strong run in Tashkent, winning four consecutive matches before meeting Sri Lanka in the final and finishing with the silver medal.
Rugby India President Rahul Bose described the tournament as an important start to the international season, noting that it provided meaningful competition exposure for players across both squads. The broader significance for Indian rugby, though, extends beyond the results.
Mahak’s rise shows what can happen when sporting talent is identified early, even in places with limited exposure to the game.
Uttarkashi is far from India’s usual rugby centres. Yet, in less than three years, a young woman from Bhadrasu village went from an accidental trial to scoring nine tries at her first senior international tournament.
Her journey also points to the work being done by coaches and local rugby bodies in Uttarakhand, who are helping young players from smaller towns and villages find space in a sport still growing in India.
For Mahak Chauhan, what began as a mistake at a rugby trial has now become the start of a promising international career.
Images courtesy of Instagram/@mahakk.chauhan
