She mastered tackles on the rugby field. Her mother tackled taunts about her daughter “wearing shorts”.

But Rushmita Oraon, 16, silenced critics when she brought home the champion’s trophy for junior rugby nationals as captain of the girls’ team from Bengal this month.

Twenty-four girls and boys travelled to Chandigarh with their team managers and coaches to represent the state in the Societe Generale Junior National Rugby Sevens Championship 2019. Twenty-four states took part in the championship.

The girls faced Bihar in the finals and the boys defeated Maharashtra in the finals on June 16.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had tweeted: “Congratulations to both the Boys and the Girls Under 18 teams from Bengal who won the National Rugby 7s played today at Chandigarh. Well done.”

For Rushmita, who lives at the Saraswatipur tea estate in Jalpaiguri, the victory has been both on and off the field.

“We would usually not answer the neighbours, but the trophy is the answer to all their criticism,” said the Class XI student who was introduced to rugby in 2013 by Paul Walsh, a former British diplomat. She has since been playing for the Jungle Crows team, founded by Walsh. Her father drives an ambulance and mother plucks tea leaves at the estate.

The journey thus far has not been easy.

Roshan Xaxa, the coach of the girls’ team, said it required a lot of effort on their part to change mindsets.

“They would be frowned upon for playing rugby. Now that many of them are representing their state and gaining recognition, it is initiating a change in the response of the people in their villages and also in some areas of Calcutta,” he said.

“The primary reason behind the success of the girls is that they practise every day, especially those based in Siliguri, irrespective of whether there is a tournament or not. The players have been taught to trust each other and play as a team,” Xaxa said.

Metro had reported about the girls and boys when the the Bengal Rugby Union announced the teams, most of whose members are from underprivileged backgrounds, on June 7.

The Bengal Rugby Union, an affiliate of the Indian Rugby Football Union, is working towards spreading the sport to schools in the districts of Bengal.

Sheikh Badal, 16, whose father works at a roadside stall in Esplanade, said they would practise for “two-and-a-half hours every day” for over a month.

“We would be tired but would give our best because if we are going to another state to represent ours, we must bring the Cup home,” said the Class XI student of Future Hope School. The coach of the boys’ team is Sanjay Patra.

Sujata Sen, the treasurer of the Bengal Rugby Union who accompanied the boys and girls to Chandigarh, said they were “involved” in the game.

“They were watching all the other games, discussing the mistakes and the strengths of the other teams. Our girls and boys were involved in the game,” she said.

The Bengal boys’ strength, according to Sen, lay in tackling boys with a much stronger build and also that they were “very fast” on the field.