On Tuesday, India’s women’s lawn bowls fours team achieved history by winning gold at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. This was the country’s first lawn bowls medal, and the team, which included skipper Rupa Rani Tirkey, Lovely Choubey, Pinki and Nayanmoni Saikia, went on to win the title after defeating 2018 silver medalists South Africa.
South Africa won the coin toss and set the jack, but India captured the first round with a point. They rallied in the second, with South African skipper Johanna Snyman sealing a two-point victory with the last bowl. While South Africa appeared to have the upper hand in tying the game while down 2-3 in the fifth end, However, India skipper Rupa Rani Tirkey turned things around with her final bowl, giving her side a two-point advantage. After a spectacular three-point End 6, it increased its advantage to five points.
After the seventh end, South Africa began to fight back. India failed to score in three successive ends, and the South Africans tied the game at 8-8 in the tenth. This pattern continued, and they led India 10-8 in the next round. Tirkey subsequently got India a two-point end, and the game was tied at 10-10 after the 12th end. This was followed by another two-point finish, giving India a 12-10 advantage. Snyman was unable to upset the formation despite putting three Indian bowls closer to the jack on her initial try, thus India headed into the final end with a five-point advantage restored. They stayed calm and won two more points to win the match 17-10.
The quartet of Choubey, Tirkey, Pinki, and Saikia, who come from backgrounds as disparate as policing, teaching, and administration, now have something to say to critics. The team had earlier defeated New Zealand 16-13 in the semi-finals to secure first-ever final participation in the competition’s women’s fours edition.
In falling behind 0-5 after the second end, the Indian team produced a great comeback against the New Zealand team of Selina Goddard (lead), Nicole Toomey (second), Tayle Bruce (third), and Val Smith (skip). They were deadlocked 7-7 after end-9, but India had taken a 10-7 lead by end-10. It was a competitive game between the two teams, with New Zealand leading 13-12 after the end-14. India won the game 16-13 thanks to a spectacular stroke by Tirkey.
