The British Asian Rugby Association (BARA) hosted the inaugural British Asian Rugby Awards at Speaker’s House, House of Commons, celebrating the contributions of South Asian communities to rugby.
The event, aimed at inspiring engagement and highlighting role models, welcomed over 100 attendees, including former Wigan star Kris Radlinski, Huddersfield Giants Owner Ken Davy, Baroness Manzoor, MPs Harpreet Uppal, Lord Evans, and Lord Scriven.
With support from headline sponsor La Romantica Beds, the evening celebrated rugby’s power to unite communities. Prominent speakers, including Mr Speaker, Deputy Speaker Judith Cummins MP, Tony Sutton (CEO, RFL), Jatin Patel (Inclusion Director, RFU), and Phil Davies (former Wales Captain), inspired guests. Dr Hanif Malik OBE hosted the event with energy, ensuring a memorable evening of inspiration and celebration.
The evening celebrated outstanding individuals, organisations, and clubs for their contributions to rugby and the community. Award winners included Nimrah Gul (Rising Star Award), Hamza Butt (Outstanding Talent Award), Parkinson Lane Primary & Olive Tree Primary (Excellence in Schools), Manjinder Nagra & Beena Chadha (Inclusion Awards), Mick Johal & Humayun Islam B.E.M. (Grassroots Excellence), Huddersfield Giants & Bradford Bulls (Professional Club Awards), Navneet Sembi (Coach of Excellence), Zeinab Drabu & Starr Zaman (Community Excellence), and Nasser Hussain (International Excellence).
The event inducted six individuals into the BARA Hall of Fame, recognising their lasting contributions to rugby and their communities: Jaswant Chatha, Mandip Sehmi PLY, Manjinder Nagra, Jagmohan Johal, Junaid Malik, Syed Ali, and Manminder Singh Samra.
