Commonwealth Games 2026: India win women's pairs and men's singles bowls openers

India enjoyed a winning start to its lawn bowls campaign at the 2026 Commonwealth Games as the women's pairs team of Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh, along with men's singles player Putul Sonowal, registered hard-fought victories on Thursday.

Rupa and Pinki opened India's campaign by defeating Malta's Connie Rixon and Rebecca Rixon in the women's pairs group stage after prevailing in a tense tie-break.

The experienced Indian duo, with Tirkey making her fourth Commonwealth Games appearance and Pinki competing at her fifth, adapted well to the new indoor format introduced for Glasgow 2026.

Under the revised format, matches are played over two sets of five ends, with a one-end tie-break deciding the winner if both teams claim one set each.

Pinki Singh shines as India clinch thrilling opening victory

India made a strong start, picking up two points in the opening end before Malta reduced the deficit with a point in the second.

The Indian pair stayed in control for the remainder of the first set and wrapped it up comfortably, 7-1.

Malta responded strongly in the second set. Pinki Singh produced an excellent final bowl in the opening end to give India the early advantage, but Malta fought back in the second end to level the scores.

India regained the lead in the third end before Malta drew level again in the fourth. Malta then claimed the fifth end to win the second set and force the match into a tie-break.

The tie-break was equally tense. Malta made the better start, but Pinki Singh once again delivered under pressure with a crucial final bowl to help India clinch the deciding end and seal the victory.

The bowls competition follows a round-robin format, with teams divided into four sections. The top team from each section will qualify directly for the semi-finals.

They will return to action on Friday when Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh take on South Africa.

Putul Sonowal wins his first match

India's second bowls match at the Commonwealth Games 2026 saw Putul Sonowal take on Canada's Ryan Bester in the men's singles sectional round.

The men's singles event follows the same format as the women's, but here each match consists of two sets of seven ends, with a tie-breaker played if both players win one set each.

Sonowal got off to a good start by winning the first end and added another point in the second to lead 2-0. Bester fought back and moved 3-2 ahead after winning two points in the fourth end. Sonowal responded in the fifth end by winning two points to regain the lead at 4-3. Those two bowls closest to the jack handed India the advantage. The first set remained close until the seventh end, where Sonowal held on to win the set 5-4.

Bester started the second set strongly by taking two points in the opening end. Sonowal answered with two points in the second end to level the score at 2-2 after the measuring tape was used to separate the bowls.

Bester won one point in the third end and added two more in the fourth to lead 5-2. He continued his run by winning the next two ends, while Sonowal picked up one point in the end as Bester took the second set by 7-3

With both players winning one set each, the match went to a tie-breaker. Sonowal won the tie-breaker to defeat three-time Commonwealth Games medallist Ryan Bester and begin his Commonwealth Games campaign with a victory.