Kazakhstan name squad for Olympic Qualifier In Guangzhou

Valerii Popov has named the 12-woman squad for Kazakhstan ahead of this weekend’s Olympic Games qualifier in China.

Kazakhstan will be one of the favorites this weekend after a strong performance in the Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Series where they finished third behind the already qualified Japan and China.

“We have been preparing for the last two months for this qualifier,” said Popov. “This Olympic qualifier is very important for us.

“If we qualify we will get more support from the government which will help develop rugby and make it more popular in our country “

Popov named Balzhan Koishibayeva as the captain and she spoke about the importance of Olympic qualification.

“It’s very important for every sportsperson the Olympics.

“This is the most important event of the year for us. We have trained hard and we will do our best.”

The Asia Rugby women’s sevens qualification Tournament for The Games Of The XXXII Olympiad In Tokyo In 2020 take place at the Guangzhou University Town Sports Centre Stadium,

Eight of the top Asian teams will be competing over the weekend with the winner earning automatic entry to next summer’s Games. Japan as host already has already qualified

Rugby sevens will make its second appearance in the Olympic Games in Tokyo following its successful introduction at the Rio 2016 Olympics which saw its fan-base increase by almost 17 million in six key territories.

Fixtures and Results >>>> #ARW7sQ

The Kazakhstan national rugby women’s team

1 stepanyuga Veronika
2 nurmatova Nigora
3 Askerova Alina
4 Abisheva Diana
5 bazyaruk Liliya
6 Zhamankulova Symbat
7 Baktybayeva Kundyzay
8 Yakovleva Anna
9 Proskurina Karina
10 Koishibayeva Balzhan (captain)
11 Tkachayouva Darya
12 Korotkikh Lyudmila

Where to watch: The Women’s Qualifiers will be live-streamed on the Asia Rugby Facebook page @Asia.rugby