NEW DELHI: India’s women’s pairs combination of Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh continued their unbeaten run at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, edging past Tonga in a tense tie-breaker on Saturday to advance to the lawn bowls semifinals.The experienced duo, both members of India’s historic women’s fours team that won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022, defeated Tonga’s Paris Baker and Milika Nathan 2-0 in a tie-breaker after the two sides split the first two sets of their Section B clash. With the win, India registered its third straight win in the women’s doubles competition and remains firmly in the race for a semifinal spot.
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England also have three wins from three matches in Section B but sit at the top of the standings after claiming one more set than the Indian pair.
India bounced back from the early setback before getting a hold of nerves
Tonga made the brighter start, taking the lead after the opening end with Paris Baker producing an impressive spell that put the Indians under early pressure.Rupa, however, responded well in the second end with a superb second bowl, while Pinki Singh’s skipper expertly contested the match as India leveled the scores at 1-1.The momentum quickly shifted in India’s favor as the duo combined effectively in the remaining ends to seal the opening set 5-2.The second set proved more challenging. Baker and skip Milika Nathan dominated the early exchanges, racing to a commanding 6-0 advantage after three ends.Both Rupa and Pinki tried to recover late but were unable to erase the deficit as Tonga claimed the set 6-4, forcing the match into a decisive tie-breaker.When the pressure was at its maximum, the Indian pair delivered. Rupa gave India an early advantage before Pinki calmly finished the job, sealing another crucial win and maintaining India’s unbeaten record.In lawn bowls, the lead 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 bowl at each end.
Disappointment for: Indian swimmers
It was, however, a disappointing day at the pool for India.Dhakshan Shashikumar and Aryan Nehra failed to advance to the men’s 400m freestyle final after finishing outside the qualification places at the Tollcross Swimming Centre.Shashikumar clocked 3:58.09 to finish 15th overall out of 27 swimmers. Competing in Heat 3, he briefly rose to seventh position at the halfway mark but faded in the closing stages.Nehra, swimming in Heat 4, clocked 4:00.26 to finish 16th overall after staying at the back throughout his race.