2025 Lawn Bowls World Cup: Utpal Basumatari, Dinesh Kumar clinch silver medals

Utpal Basumatari became India's first silver medalist at the Lawn Bowls World Cup, finishing as runners-up in the para men's singles category in Malaysia on Saturday.

This was the inaugural edition of the Lawn Bowls World Cup, which is one of the sport’s highest-ranked international competitions outside the Commonwealth Games and World Championships.

Upal had a brilliant outing throughout the tournament but fell short in the final against Australia's James Reynolds in straight sets, 3-6, 1-8.

Following him, the reigning Commonwealth Games team silver medalist Dinesh Kumar also confirmed a medal in the open men's singles category after reaching the Final.

However, he also fell short of his first major gold medal and lost his final to England's Sam Tolchard in straight sets, 2-7, 1-7, settling for the silver medal.

First Major International Medal in Para Lawn Bowls

India has enjoyed notable success in recent major lawn bowls events, but in terms of para events, this marks the country's first-ever major international medal.

Utpal has started the tournament on a brilliant note, winning his first three matches in Group B. But then, he faced his first defeat to New Zealand's Kurt Smith in the fourth.

However, he bounced back in the final group match and qualified for the semi-finals as the second-best player in his group.

In the semi-finals, he was up against in-form Tong Wai-sum of Hong Kong, who was on a 5-match winning streak, but Utpal got the better of him (6-5, 6-4) to reach the final.

Although he lost the final to James, but took home his biggest medal from Malaysia, which will be a big boost for him before the coming Commonwealth Games 2026.