Birmingham: Hardly anyone in India had heard their names or followed lawn bowls till the other day. And now Lovely Choubey, Pinki, Rupa Rani Tirkey and Nayanmoni Saikia have earned a precious gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022 to be the toast of the country.
The golden ladies – ranging from a cop, forest officer to sports officer — had already made history by conquering New Zealand in the semifinal and ensuring India’s first-ever lawn bowls medal. On Tuesday, they went one better, beating South Africa 17-10 in the final to top the competition.
India got off to a fine start and took a 6-2 lead. However, South Africa fought and not only levelled scores at 8-8 but nosed ahead 10-8.
But some brilliant rolling of the blue balls by Lovely & Co. helped India turn the contest their way again. In the end, they emerged convincing champions by a comprehensive 7-point margin to give India its fourth gold of the Games, besides 3 silver and 3 bronze medals as of now.
Union Sports minister Anurag Thakur was quick to laud the team for the ‘historic gold’.
“A Historic Gold for India in #CommonwealthGames Lawn Bowls! Absolutely ecstatic that our Women’s Fours Team – Lovely Choubey, Pinki , Nayanmoni Saikia & Rupa Rani Tirkey has fetched the nation its first ever #LawnBowls medal defeating South Africa 17-10 in the final!” Thakur tweeted.
A Historic Gold for India in #CommonwealthGames Lawn Bowls!
Absolutely ecstatic that our Women’s Fours Team – Lovely Choubey, Pinki , Nayanmoni Saikia & Rupa Rani Tirkey has fetched the nation its first ever #LawnBowls medal defeating South Africa 17-10 in the final ! pic.twitter.com/8Pbio6W0qB
— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) August 2, 2022
Prime Narendra Modi also congratulated the team and hoped their success will motivate many Indians towards the sport.
Historic win in Birmingham! India is proud of Lovely Choubey, Pinki Singh, Nayanmoni Saikia and Rupa Rani Tirkey for bringing home the prestigious Gold in Lawn Bowls. The team has demonstrated great dexterity and their success will motivate many Indians towards Lawn Bowls. pic.twitter.com/RvuoGqpQET
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 2, 2022
