Glasgow, July 26 (IANS) India’s Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh suffered their first defeat of the Commonwealth Games 2026 women’s pairs lawn bowls competition after losing to Namibia’s Amanda Steenkamp and Diana Viljoen in a dramatic Group B contest on Sunday.
The Indian duo squandered a five-point lead to lose the opening set, responded with a dominant second-set display to force a tiebreak, but eventually went down 3-0 in the decider. However, England’s tiebreak defeat to South Africa kept India’s qualification hopes alive, with the final Group B fixture against England set to determine which team advances to the knockout stage.
India made an ideal start, taking control from the opening end by collecting two points before adding three more in the second to surge into a commanding 5-0 lead.
Rupa consistently placed her bowls close to the jack, while Pinki produced a tactical masterstroke by positioning her final bowl behind the kitty as insurance against a Namibian drive. Diana Viljoen was unable to disturb India’s setup, allowing the pair to establish early dominance.
Namibia finally found its rhythm in the third end after India’s attempts to move the jack failed to pay off. Amanda Steenkamp and Viljoen capitalised by placing two bowls closest to the jack to reduce the deficit to 5-2.
The momentum continued to swing in Namibia’s favour in the fourth end. India discussed several tactical options, but Pinki’s attempts to remove Namibia’s scoring bowls proved unsuccessful as the Africans picked up two more points to trail by just one.
With the scores at 5-4, Namibia completed a remarkable comeback in the fifth end. Amanda’s opening delivery settled right beside the jack and immediately put India under pressure. Viljoen then ensured Namibia collected three shots, overturning the early deficit to claim the opening set 7-5.
India produced an emphatic response in the second set. Rupa opened with two excellent deliveries before Pinki added two more perfectly weighted bowls as India raced into a 4-0 lead after the opening end.
The Indian pair tightened its grip in the second end, extending the advantage to 7-0 as Namibia struggled to find any rhythm. Although Namibia managed a solitary point in the third end after displacing an Indian bowl near the jack, India remained firmly in control.
Pinki then delivered one of the defining moments of the match in the penultimate end, driving directly into the jack to rescue a difficult situation and help India move 8-1 ahead. India completed the turnaround in the final end, collecting two more points to seal the second set 10-1 and send the contest into a tiebreak.
The decider was a tense affair. Viljoen’s penultimate delivery left India needing a perfect final bowl to stay alive. Pinki’s last attempt, however, ran beyond the target, handing Namibia a 3-0 victory in the tiebreak and ending India’s unbeaten run in the competition.
Despite the setback, India remained firmly in the race for a place in the knockout stage after England lost their tiebreak to South Africa in the other Group B fixture.
The result means India and England will now meet later in the day in a winner-takes-all clash, with qualification from the group on the line.
–IANS
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