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India confirm first-ever medal in Lawn Bowls, women's team reaches historic Commonwealth Games 2022 final
India defeated New Zealand 16-13 in the semifinal of Women's Fours event in Lawn Bowls to reach their first-ever final at the Commonwealth Games.
India defeated New Zealand 16-13 in the semifinal of Women's Fours event in Lawn Bowls to reach their first-ever final at the Commonwealth Games 2022. The quartet of Lovely Choubey, Pinki Choudhury, Nayanmoni Saikia and Rupa Rani ensured India their first-ever medal in the sport by scripting a fabulous come-from-behind win. They will now face South Africa in the final which will start Tuesday at 4:15 PM IST with a shot at even greater history.
New Zealand began the event on an emphatic note, racing away to a 5-0 lead after the first two rounds. India had to wait for the next round to open their account but even then, NZ's team of Selina Goddard, Nicole Toomey, Tayla Bruce and Val Smith maintained a five-point lead. After the four ends, New Zealand were ahead 6-1. However, things changed drastically for India as they upped their game and roared back to claim a 7-6 lead. From there, it was neck-and-neck, with the score reading 13-12 ahead of the final round with India trailing.
In the deciding round, Choudhury began with an excellent couple of throws, aided by a brilliant throw from Saika herself; however, New Zealand were not out of it yet. They came up with two more outstanding throws to close in on the deficit. But Rupa Rani held her nerves and in her final two throws, earned four points, enough to assure India of at least a silver medal. After the win, the four throwers broke into an emotional celebration post the result and raised the Indian tri-colour high.
The result allowed India to finish second in the Section C table with three wins and one loss. After starting their campaign with a defeat to Malaysia in the first game, they registered wins against Falkland Islands, Cook Islands and England, who are leading with three wins and a loss. It was a much-needed result for India in the sport, especially after the poor results in other categories. Earlier, the Indian men's pair was knocked out of the competition on Sunday after going down 8-26 to Northern Ireland in the quarter-final.
