Mumbai, June 5 : The 8th Junior and 10th Senior Rugby National Championships are all set to kick off on Monday with 27 states and over 1500 athletes vying for the top spots in the juniors and senior's category. The championship starts with the junior girls and senior women's category with the juniors playing on June 5 and June 6 and the seniors playing on the June 9 and June 10 at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium, Balewadi, Pune. "2023-24 will be the biggest year as yet for Indian rugby. Our Indian teams will travel abroad for 9 tournaments this year. The squads that will be selected for these tournaments will be on the basis of these Nationals at Pune from 5th to 18th of June 2023. Rugby India is delighted to hold these nationals at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium. "Our special thanks to Ministry of Sports and Youth Welfare, Government of Maharashtra & Directorate of Sports and Youth Services, Government of Maharashtra for partnering with us and supporting our road to the 2028 Olympics," said Rahul Bose, president, Indian Rugby Football Union. The defending champions, Bihar, are looking to repeat their unbeaten record from last year in both the juniors girls women's category but will come up against strong competition from Odisha, Maharashtra, and West Bengal who will be looking to topple them off their top spot. The junior girls and women's championship will be followed next week by the junior boys and men's event from the June 14 till June 18. /IANS