India defeated Malta in the Women’s Doubles Bowls in Glasgow to open the CWG campaign

India got their 2026 Commonwealth Games campaign off to a winning start after defeating Malta in a tie-break in the women’s doubles grass court tournament in Glasgow on Thursday. India’s experienced pair of Rupa Rani Tirkey (lead) and Pinki (vault) fought off a strong challenge from Malta to win their Section B opener.

India won the first set 7–1 but Malta bounced back to win the second set 4–3 to force a tie-break. With the match on the line, the Indian pair kept their composure and Pinki delivered the final bowl to seal the win and hand India their first win of the campaign.

The result is yet another memorable moment for Indian bowls, a sport that has captured the country’s attention at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Tirkey and Pinki were part of the historic women’s four-member team along with Lovely Choubey and Nayanmoni Saikia that won India’s first Commonwealth Games gold medal.

It was also India’s first appearance in a women’s fours final and the win turned the bowls into one of the biggest stories of the games.

This gold medal came after a thrilling final against South Africa. India led 7-2 after five ends before South Africa, one of the strongest teams on Commonwealth turf, battled back to level the scores at 8-8 after the 10th end and then moved 10-8 in the 11th end.

The Indian team responded well under pressure. Tirkey and Saikia played some important bowling, while Pinki and Choubey also contributed significantly as India scored nine unanswered runs in the last four overs, from 12 to 15, to complete a famous comeback and create history.

Tirkey’s journey to the top was hard work. She first played kabaddi before switching to lawn bowls. Father and later mother worked in the postal department. Like many of India’s grass-court players, she often used prize money from international medals to help pay for future foreign tours, as players regularly had to pay a portion of their travel expenses. Her sister, Reema Rani Tirkey, is a cricketer.

Pinki’s journey to sports started by accident. She studied at a school in Delhi that had one of only two greens and training centers in the city. What started as a hobby in 2007 soon turned into an international career that culminated in a historic Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

23 Jul 2026 19:04 IST