"The game is really rough and a lot of parents say no," said Aslinda Abdullah, Singapore team captain.

"So we have a hard time getting a team together.

"My parents like their daughters to play sport, so I chose rugby and my dad said 'no problem'."

"From the eyes of outsiders and even for the Japanese, you may think that rugby is not a sport that girls would play," said Tsukasa Tsujimoto, Japan's vice-captain.

"Sports are becoming more and more equal, even in Japan. So we say that women can equally play rugby just as the men do.

"Even though the image for the Japanese is dainty and not really aggressive, for us, because we are rugby players representing Japan, we feel the opposite, that we can be aggressive women and strong rugby players."

Doha debut

The fifth annual Asian Women's Rugby Sevens made its debut in the Middle East, in the Qatari capital Doha, and pitted teams from all over the continent against each other in a round robin format with each team playing eight games in less than 48 hours.

"Sevens is a shortened version of the full game to promote women's rugby in a fast, action packed way… something Qatar has never seen before," said Aaron Palmer, tournament director.

The eight teams vying for the title were Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Japan, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Singapore and hosts the Arabian Gulf, with last year's winners China, for reasons not entirely clear, failing to show up to defend their crown.

Good techniques

Against Singapore, Japan ran away with the game to go through to the final [Al Jazeera]

None of the participating countries are rugby giants yet, but each of their players has an unflinching passion for the game, even if they have very different physical qualities and styles.

"I think our secret is our techniques, our tackles… under the hips, we tackle well," said Rukshani Ariyasena from the Sri Lanka team.

"Our girls are very slim, but they can fell big people."

Whatever their size, when they hit, it hurts, and injuries are common whether they are playing for titles, or simply pride.

Promoting the game

The women may be from all over Asia, but they are united in a common goal.

Of course they all want to win the trophy in Doha, but perhaps more importantly is the desire to promote the sport to other women in their countries.

"I think winning is the top priority. Top two will be a boost for us," added Singapore's Abdullah.

"(It will mean) support from the Sports Council and a more popular sport. Then women will think 'if team Singapore can do it, so can we'."

"We hope to be in the top three, because that might influence the people at the top to give us money in Uzbekistan," said Indira Shafikova from the Uzbekistan side.

"For us, because Japan Rugby is not as well recognised, one of the biggest things we have to have is results," added Tsujimoto.

"We have to do our best, but the end results, that's what everyone is going to see. No one's going to care about how many injuries, how many tries. They're going to see 'oh you won the tournament', and that's going to be the turn around.

"We want that support and respect."

Changing perceptions

Kazakhstan went through undefeated to win their fourth Asian Sevens title [Al Jazeera]

In the end Kazakhstan proved too strong for the Japanese, thrashing them 25-0.

"I dreamt about it all year, especially after we were beaten by China last year," said Svetlana Klyuchnikova, Kazakhstan team captain.

"I dream only about winning the Asian Championships."

For all the teams it was a hot and tiring two days on the pitch, but even among those who didn't win, there is still some sense of victory.

They came, they played, and with each game they took another step towards changing perceptions.

Joanna Gasiorowska's full story on the Asian Women's Sevens can be seen on Al Jazeera's Sportsworld program on May 7 at 1130 GMT and 2030 GMT, May 8 at 0230 GMT and 0730 GMT, May 10 at 1130 GMT and 2030 GMT and May 11 at 0230 GMT and 0730 GMT.