Commonwealth Games: India's Putul Sonowal stuns 2023 world champion Ryan Bester
India’s lawn bowls campaign at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games began on a winning note on Thursday as Putul Sonowal pulled off a stunning upset against 2023 world champion Ryan Bester of Canada in the men’s singles.
Making his Commonwealth Games debut, Sonowal won the opening set 5-4 before Bester, a multiple Commonwealth Games medalist, fought back with a commanding 7-3 win in the second set to force a tiebreak.
The reigning Asian champion from Assam held his nerve in the decider to complete a memorable victory in his opening Section D match. He will face Cecil Alexander of the Falkland Islands in his second match on Friday.
The win is among the biggest of Sonowal’s career, given Bester’s achievements in the sport. The Canadian won bronze in the Men’s Singles at the 2006 Commonwealth Games before adding silver medals in the 2014 and 2018 editions. He has also won seven medals at the World Outdoor Championships in singles and pairs, including a gold and a bronze at the 2023 edition. In 2025, he was inducted into the inaugural World Bowls Hall of Fame.
India also made a winning start in the Women’s Pairs, with Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh beating Malta in another tie-break.
The Indian pair of Tirkey (lead) and Pinki (skip) dominated the opening set 7-1 to take an early advantage in their Section B match at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) Hall 3.
Malta’s Rebecca Louise Rixon (lead) and Connie-Leigh Rixon (skip) responded by edging the second set 4-3 to level the contest and force a tie-break.
The Indians found themselves under pressure in the decider before Pinki produced an excellent final bowl to secure the victory.
In lawn bowls, the skip is the team captain and usually the most experienced player. The skip decides the team’s tactics and delivers the final two bowls of an end. A lead is the first player to bowl, placing the mat and attempting to finish as close to the jack as possible before the skip takes over.
Tirkey and Pinki will face South Africa in their second Section B match on Friday.
The pair were part of India’s historic Women’s Fours team that won the country’s first-ever Commonwealth Games gold medal in lawn bowls at Birmingham in 2022. However, the Men’s and Women’s Fours events have been dropped from the Glasgow programme, with only the Men’s and Women’s Singles and Pairs competitions being held.
India had also won silver in the Men’s Fours event at the Birmingham Games, making lawn bowls one of the country’s standout sports at the last edition.
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