Lawn Bowling or Lawn Bowls is a precision sport where players roll biased balls, which are known as bowls or woods, to get them as close as possible to a small target ball called the jack. The sport is governed by World Bowls.
The sport is generally played on a rectangular area of grass, called a bowling green, which is divided into vertical segments called rinks.
What equipment is required to play this game?
The Jack: A small, spherical white or target ball
The Bowls: Slightly weighted balls made of plastic resin, rubber, or wood that feature a “bias” (one side is heavier than the other), causing them to travel in a curved path rather than a straight line
The Mat: It’s a small piece of rubber or cloth placed on the ground, and players must stand on it with at least one foot when delivering their bowl.
Rules:
Players stand on a rubber mat with at least one foot firmly on or above it during delivery. The player who wins the coin toss places the mat and rolls the jack down the green.
Players take turns rolling their bowls toward the jack. Because lawn bowls are asymmetrical (“biased”), they curve rather than travel in a straight line.
An “end” is finished when all players have delivered all their bowls. Points are awarded only to the team with the bowl closest to the jack. That team receives 1 point for each of their bowls that is closer to the jack than the opponent’s nearest bowl.
A standard game consists of a predetermined number of ends (e.g., 21 ends) or is played until a target score is achieved (typically 21 points in singles).
When did Lawn Bowls debut at the Commonwealth Games?
Lawn Bowls debuted at the Commonwealth Games in 1930 during the inaugural edition in Hamilton, Canada.
How has India fared at the previous editions of the Commonwealth Games:
The specific events in which it won have been dropped in the 2026 edition due to major cost-cutting measures. The events were: Men’s Fours, Women’s Fours, Men’s Triples, and Women’s Triples.
India’s Medals in Lawn Bowls at the Commonwealth Games:
India won two historic medals in lawn bowls at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games: one gold and one silver.
Gold Medal: Won by the women’s fours team consisting of Lovely Choubey, Pinki Singh, Nayanmoni Saikia, and Rupa Rani Tirkey
Silver Medal: Won by the men’s fours teams
India’s Squad for the 2026 Commonwealth Games Lawn Bowls:
Nayan Moni Saikia (women’s singles)
Rupa Rani Tirkey (women’s pairs – lead)
Pinki (women’s pairs – skip)
Putul Sonowal (men’s singles)
Navneet Singh (men’s pairs – lead)
Dinesh Kumar (men’s pairs – skip)
In the ongoing 2026 edition, Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh were on a 3-0 winning streak before they lost to Namibia in today’s (26th July) match.
Match 1&2: Defeated Malta and South Africa
Match 3 (July 25th): Defeated Paris Baker and Milika Nathan from Tonga 2-0 in a tie-breaker (5-2, 4-6, 2-0) to close in on a semi-final spot.
In today’s 1st game (26th July), Tirkey and Singh lost to Namibia in a narrow tie-breaker. After losing the first set 5-7, Rupa and Pinki bounced back to win the second set 10-1, but lost the tie-break 0-3.
They will both play a second match against England’s Amy Pharaoh and Sian Honnor today to decide who moves on to the semi-finals. The match starts at 10:05 PM IST.
