CWG 2026: Rupa Rani Tirkey, Pinki Singh remain unbeaten as Indian duo head into women’s doubles semi-finals

India’s Pinki Singh, left, and Rupa Rani Tirkey during the women’s doubles sectional. (PTI photo) NEW DELHI: The Indian women’s doubles combination of Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh continued their unbeaten run at the 2026 Commonwealth Games by overcoming Tonga in a thrilling tie-break on Saturday to move a step closer to the bowls semi-finals.The experienced duo, both members of India’s historic four to win gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, defeated Tonga’s Paris Baker and Milika Nathan 2-0 in a tie-break after the two sides split the opening two sets in their Section B encounter. With the win, India claimed their third straight win in the women’s doubles competition and remained firmly in contention for a semi-final berth.

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England also have three wins from three matches in Section B but sit top of the table after scoring one hundred more than the Indian pair.

India recovered from the early setback before holding their nerve

Tonga started the brighter and took the lead after the opening end as Paris Baker produced an impressive spell to put the Indians under pressure.However, Rupa responded brilliantly in the second end with a superb second ball while skip Pinki Singh expertly managed the match as India leveled the scores at 1-1.The momentum quickly shifted in India’s favor as the duo effectively combined the remaining ends to seal the opening set 5-2.The second set was much more challenging. Baker and skip Milika Nathan dominated the early exchanges and raced to a convincing 6-0 lead after three ends.Rupa and Pinki attempted a late recovery but were unable to erase the deficit as Tonga took the set 6-4, forcing the match into a deciding tie-break.When the pressure was on, the Indian couple went for it. Rupa gave India an early advantage before Pinki calmly finished the job to seal another crucial win and keep India’s unbeaten record intact.In batiste bowls, the leader is responsible for opening each end and placing the bowls as close to the jack as possible, while the skip, usually the most experienced player on the team, calls the tactics and delivers the last bowls of each end.

Disappointment for Indian swimmers

However, it was a disappointing day in the pool for India.Dhakshan Shashikumar and Aryan Nehra failed to advance to the men’s 400m freestyle final after finishing outside the qualifying spots at the Tollcross Swimming Centre.Shashikumar clocked 3:58.09 to finish 15th overall out of 27 swimmers. In Heat 3, he briefly climbed to seventh position at the halfway point, but faded in the closing stages.Nehra, swimming in heat 4, clocked 4:00.26 to place 16th overall after staying at the back of the field throughout his race.