Rugby Sevens or commonly known as Sevens is a variant of the Rugby Union where teams consisting of seven players are made that play for seven minute halves rather than the usual game which involves 15 teammates playing for 40 minute halves.
Rugby Sevens at Asian Games
Rugby was commenced being played at the Asian Games during the 1998 Games at Bangkok, Thailand. But just after two seasons, i.e, 1998 and 2002, Rugby Sevens was adopted and has been continued since then.
South Korea is the most successful nation in this sport at the Asian Games as they have won seven medals so far which includes four gold, a silver and two bronze medals. Japan follows them in the medal tally as they also have seven medals but that includes three gold.
Rugby Sevens at 2018 Asian Games
The competition at the 2018 Asiad will consist of two rounds each for the men's and women's category. One will be the preliminary round while the other will be finals.
A total of 12 teams will be competing against each other in the men's category that are bifurcated in three groups, which are:
Group A
| Position | Teams |
| 1 | Hong Kong |
| 2 | China |
| 3 | Thailand |
| 4 | Pakistan |
Group B
| Position | Teams |
| 1 | Japan |
| 2 | Malaysia |
| 3 | Chinese Taipei |
| 4 | Indonesia |
Group C
| Position | Teams |
| 1 | South Korea |
| 2 | Sri Lanka |
| 3 | United Arab Emirates |
| 4 | Afghanistan |
Eight teams will be competing against each other in the women's category that are bifurcated in two groups, which are:
| Group A | Group B |
| China | Japan |
| Hong Kong | Kazakhstan |
| Singapore | Thailand |
| South Korea | Indonesia |
Dates and Venue
The 2018 Asian Games Rugby Sevens will be held over three days from August 30 to September 1. The competition was earlier planned to be played the Wibawa Mukti Stadium in Bekasi but later it was decided that it will be held at Rugby D field in Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex.
Defending Champions and Favourites
Japan and China are the gold medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Incheon in the men's and women's category respectively. This year also, China and Japan are expected to bag the highest medal along with South Korea, being the most successful team so far at the Asian Games.
