Commonwealth Games 2026 Day 1 Highlights: Rupa-Pinki, Putul make winning start in Bowls

Bowls, Women's Pairs: Exception from India!

Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh have found their rhythm. They have completely outplayed the Maltese pair in the fourth end and win two more points.

India leads 5-1 in the first set. Final end coming up!

Bowls, Women's Pairs: India extend their lead

The third end falls in favour of India as well. Just one point, but Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh will take it.

They are 3-1 up in the first set!

Bowls, Women's Pairs: India get two points in the first end

India are off to a good start. Their red balls land much closer to the jack in the first end and they pocket two points.

Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh are up 2-0. 

Bowls, Women's Pairs: And it begins...

Rupa Rani Tirkey is the lead for India as the End 1 of first set, is underway. 

Three attempts for Tirkey and she does relatively good before we switch to Pinki Singh.

In case you are unaware of the rules, the objective is to land your ball as close to the Jack or the yellow ball in the picture below.

In pairs, each player in the team takes three attempts in an end.

Bowls, Women's Pairs: India v/s Malta

The action is about to begin. Both India and Malta are on the screens, getting warmed up or "trials" as its called in Bowls.

It will be Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh for India against Rebecca Louise Rixon and Connie Leigh Rixon for Malta!

Judo, Men's 73kg: Arun Kumar dropped from Indian team

Just before the opening ceremony, India have been handed a massive blow. Judoka Arun Kumar, who was named in the contingent for the men's 73kg, has been dropped from the team after being caught in doping net.

Arun tested positive for stanozolol in an out-of-competition test. Read more here.

Boxing, Women's 75kg: Lovlina Borgohain assured of a medal

Lovlina Borgohain and India have been assured of a medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games even without throwing a punch.

The draws for boxing were announced late on Wednesday night and Borgohain's women's 75kg weight class had just five entries.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist has a first-round bye, meaning she'll start her campaign directly in the semi-finals.

In boxing, all semi-finalists are assured of a medal. Read more here.

INDIA's DAY 1 schedule

Lawn Bowls & the glory of 2022 Birmingham Games

Until four years ago, lawn bowls was a sport unknown to even the closest followers of the Indian sporting ecosystem. 

So when the women's fours team comprising of Rupa Rani Tirkey, Pinki Singh, Nayanmoni Saikia, and Lovely Chaubey clinched the gold medal, they shot to overnight fame. And the sport barely anyone had heard of was the talk of the entire nation.

It was an underdog story like no other. A police constable, a PT teacher, a forest officer, and a district sports officer combining to win a first-ever Lawn Bowls medal for India.

Three athletes from that team, Tirkey, Singh, and Saikia, return for yet another campaign at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Two of them – Tirkey and Singh – will have the honour of opening the Indian campaign at the Games. Their match is slated to begin at 4:50pm IST.

Goood Afternooon!

Hello and welcome to The Bridge's LIVE coverage of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The Scottish city stepped in as a last minute replacement for the Games after Victoria, Australia withdrew citing the ever-rising costs to host the event.

As a result, the 2026 Commonwealth Games are an extremely shortened version. Sports were axed from the programme left, right, and centre. Only 16 sports, ten in able-bodied and six para-sports, are a part of the final roster.

India's medal chances took a massive hit in the process with sports like shooting, wrestling, badminton all booted out. 

But there are still 124 Indian athletes expected to be in action at the Glasgow Games, from which Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh will get the country's campaign at the quadrennial event underway in women's pairs Bowls.

Stay tuned for all the latest updates!