India achieved their second successive victory in the lawn bowls women’s pairs event, demonstrating a strong performance. The pairing of Rupa Rani Tirkey, acting as the lead, and Pinki Singh, serving as the skip, defeated South Africa with a score of 2-0. This match, part of Section B, took place at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) Hall 3 in Glasgow.
The sets concluded with scores of 6-4 and 7-5 in favour of the Indian duo. While the South African team, comprising Thabelo Muvhango (lead) and Jacqui Janse van Rensburg (skip), put up a determined effort, the Indian players proved to be too formidable on the day. Following this win, the Indian pair currently holds the top position in the Section B standings.
Previous Victory and Player Roles
This recent success follows their opening match on Thursday, where the Indian pair also secured a win against Malta. That encounter was decided in a tense tie-break. In their match against Malta, India initially won the first set with a score of 7-1. However, the Maltese duo of Rebecca Louise Rixon (lead) and Connie-Leigh Rixon (skip) mounted a comeback, taking the second set 3-4.
The tie-break against Malta was particularly close, with the Indian team trailing at one point. However, Pinki Singh delivered a crucial final bowl, securing the victory for India. In lawn bowls, the ‘skip’ is the team captain, typically the most experienced player, who is responsible for determining the game plan and playing the final two bowls of an ‘end’. An ‘end’ consists of five bowls.
The ‘lead’ is the player who bowls first, tasked with placing the mat and aiming to position their bowls as close as possible to the target before the ‘skip’ takes their turn. Both Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh were part of the Women’s Fours team that earned a gold medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Changes in Commonwealth Games Events
For the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, there have been adjustments to the bowls competition features. The Men’s and Women’s Fours events, which were part of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, have been excluded from this edition. Instead, the Glasgow games include the Men’s and Women’s Singles and Pairs events.
At the 2022 Birmingham Games, India also achieved a silver medal in the Men’s Fours event. The exclusion of the Fours events means that players like Tirkey and Singh are now competing in the pairs format, where they have already demonstrated strong form.
Putul Sonowal’s Performance
In other lawn bowls action, Putul Sonowal, an officer with the Assam Police, also had a challenging match. After defeating reigning world champion Ryan Bester of Canada in the opening round, Sonowal faced Cecil Alexander of the Falkland Islands in the second round of Section D. This match also went to a tie-break.
Sonowal, who is 43 years old, secured the first set with a 7-5 victory, recovering from a 3-4 deficit. He managed to level the scores at 4-4 before taking the momentum to close out the set. However, the second set saw Alexander maintain control, leading to an 8-6 defeat for Sonowal, which levelled the match at 1-1.
Despite the pressure of the tie-break, Sonowal maintained his composure and claimed the decisive point, securing a hard-fought win. His earlier victory against Ryan Bester, a decorated player with multiple Commonwealth Games medals and World Outdoor Championships medals, including a Singles gold in 2023, was a significant start to his campaign.
Sonowal’s performance, particularly his ability to win in tie-breaks, highlights the competitive nature of the lawn bowls events at the Commonwealth Games. The Indian team continues to make its mark in the competition, with both the women’s pairs and men’s singles events seeing notable results on Friday.
The Indian women’s pairs team secured their second win on Friday.
Source: theprint.in
Arjun Sharma
Sports Reporter