Birmingham: Indian Women defeated South African women by 17-10 to win the fourth gold of the Games. The victory marks India’s first Lawn Balls Gold in Commonwealth Games history. Additionally, it is also India’s first medal in Lawn Balls.
Lawn Balls have been there since the beginning of the Games in 1930. However, India sent its first contingent only in 2010. The women’s team has reached the semifinals two times before. However, they could not make it to the podium. The Best place finish in the event for India was 4th till now.
The Indian Women Quartet started the campaign with a loss against England. The ladies shook off the rocky road with a comfortable win against the Cook Islands at a margin of 15-9. Lovely Dubey and the team then knocked out Canada by a margin of 17-7.
Norfolk Islands met India in the Quarterfinals. India defeated the territory and moved to the 1/4 finals. India beat New Zealand in a very intense match by a margin of 16-13. The semi-finals saw the Kiwis leading till the final end. In the bronze medal match, New Zealand defeated continental rivals Fiji by a whopping 17-6 margin to take home the third spot.
India’s First Lawn Balls Gold Winning Team included Nayanamoni Saikia, Rupa Rani Tirkey, Lovely Dubey, and Pinki. Nayanamoni Saikia is a forest officer in Assam while Pinki is a PE Teacher in Delhi. Lovely Dubey works as a police constable in Jharkhand. RR Tirkey is a district sports officer in Jharkand. The team will be representing the nation in the forthcoming Triples and Pairs over the next few days.
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