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.

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........

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