Philippines thumped India 34-12 in the final of the HSBC Asian 5 Nation second division rugby tournament at the Delhi University grounds here on Saturday to rise to division one.
India failed to match their earlier performance and lost despite the crowd cheering them all the way.
The hosts had reached the finals of the Commonwealth Games test event after a comprehensive 94-0 victory over China in their previous encounter.
The visitors never let the Indians take the initiative with their aggressive game and a tight defence and took a huge 22-7 lead in the first half itself. Philippines also successfully scored four of the five penalties that came their way before the break.
In the second half, Ken Stern scored the first try and Oliver Saunders converted to take the score to 29. Singh in reply scored a try a few minutes later to raise hopes of a comeback but Sethna’s failure to convert a good chance put paid to their efforts.