Glasgow: Putul Sonowal continued India’s superb start in the bowls competition in Glasgow on Thursday, pulling off a major upset on his Commonwealth Games debut by beating reigning World Champion and World Bowls Hall of Fame inductee Ryan Bester in men’s singles sectional play category.
Sonowal started his campaign in Section D of the preliminary competition, defeating Canada’s Bester in a thrilling encounter that went down to the wire and was decided in a tiebreaker. Sonowal won the tiebreaker after Match 2 in Round 1 of Section D had ended 1-1 in regulation time.
Ranked 21st in the world, the Indian clinched a close first set 5-4 to take the lead against Bester, a two-time CWG silver medallist. But the Canadian came back and took the second set with a 7-3 scoreline.
Bester, who claimed a bronze in Men’s Singles in the 2006 edition in Manchester before claiming a silver each in 2014 in Glasgow and 2018 Gold Coast editions, won the toss and had the first roll in the tiebreak. The Canadian is very experienced, as he has also won seven medals in World Outdoor Championships in Singles and Pairs, including a gold and a bronze in Singles and Pairs in the 2023 edition.
However, reigning Asian champion Sonowal’s opening attempt landed close to the kitty, which ultimately proved enough to seal the win. Sonowal will next face Cecil Alexander of Falkland Islands in his next Section D match on Friday.
Earlier in the day, the Indian combine of Pinki Singh and Rupa Rani Tirkey battled past Malta in a dramatic tiebreak in women’s pairs to open their campaign with a hard-fought victory in the sectional Group Play stage.
Competing in the discipline’s new indoor format, now officially called Bowls for the first time in Commonwealth Games history, the Indian pair overcame a spirited challenge from sisters Rebecca Louise Rixon and Connie-Leigh Rixon, recovering from a tense second set before Pinki produced the decisive bowl in the tiebreak to seal the contest.
India made an assured start, taking control from the opening end. After Rupa Rani Tirkey settled into her rhythm, Pinki capitalised with accurate deliveries that earned India two points for an early 2-0 advantage.
The Rixon sisters responded in the next end to trim the deficit to 2-1, but Pinki once again rose to the occasion in the third end. With Malta appearing to hold the advantage, the Indian skip delivered a bowl that initially looked short before a closer inspection confirmed it was nearest to the jack, allowing India to extend their lead.
(IANS)
