Glasgow: Putul Sonowal stunned 2023 world champion Ryan Bester of Canada in tie-break in Lawn Bowls Men’s Singles as India began their Glasgow Commonwealth Games campaign on a confident note here on Thursday.
Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh also won their Women’s Pairs opening match against Malta in tie-break as Lawn Bowls competition kicked off the Games.
Sonowal, who was making his Commonwealth Games debut, clinched the first set 5-4 before Bester, also a multiple Commonwealth Games medallist, came back with a dominating 7-3 win to take the contest to the tie-break.
The Assam player, the reigning Asian champion, kept his cool to clinch the tie-break for a remarkable win in his opening match in Section D. He faces Cecil Alexander of Falkland Islands in his second match on Friday.
Bester won a bronze in the Men’s Singles in 2006 CWG before pocketing a silver each in 2014 and 2018 editions. In the Women’s Pairs, India beat Malta in a tense tie-break.
The Indian pair of Rupa Rani Tirkey (lead) and Pinki Singh (skip) dished out a dominant show in the first set, winning it 7-1 and going up 1-0 in the opening round match in section B at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) Hall 3.
But the Maltese duo of Rebecca Louise Rixon (lead) and Connie-Leigh Rixon (skip) fought back to take the second
set 3-4. In the nervy tie-break, the Indians were lagging behind their opponents before Pinky sent down a fine effort in the last bowl and won the match.
