'Medal became a matter of self-respect': India's CWG 2022 lawn bowls champion Pinki Singh

It is an odd curtsy. Left leg entirely bent, right leg straight back - this looks nothing less than a common act of obeisance to the slow arc of the bowl as it curves across the surface of the lawn.

You may then behold half a dozen figures bending and bowing to the soft click of a bowl on a bowl, competing in sombre silence. This later assumes the form of polite claps as the smattering of small talk seems to dissipate in the sweltering heat of Birmingham. 

“Good work, skip!” someone calls. “By a whisker!” shouts another.

Birmingham ushers in new dawn for Indian lawn bowls

A game customarily stereotyped with the sight of chasing oddly-shaped balls down a polished lawn bearing little cognizance precipitantly wended its way to television screens only recently...as India’s CWG crusade surged life into the sport, besides having bred a new champion team in the form of the quartet of Pinki Singh, Lovely Choubey, Nayanmoni Saikia and Rupa Rani Tirkey. 

First, they assured us of silver. The next day, they became the champions. 

They were overcome with emotions as the result sunk in, all four embracing as they were cheered by the small but vocal Indian contingent in the crowd. It marked India's first gold in lawn bowls. 

"South Africa was playing really well, and they were also leading at a time. Quickly before we knew, the match began getting neck-to-neck. The only good thing then was that we were not giving away more than a point. So at last, we had only five remaining ends. Then Rupa called for a team meeting, we devised a few quick strategies, and had a surge of motivation to keep us on our toes", says Pinki. 

The 2018 silver medallists kickstarted the battle rather meekly, unable to score a single point for five consecutive ends. It appeared a child's play for India until Esme Kruger's tactical acumen usurped the lead which saw Rupa's side trail by two points, 8-10 after 11 ends. 

Minutes later, the outcome seemed beyond doubt at Victoria Park, with the quartet regaining a five-point lead into the final end and winning two more to be crowned the 2022 champions. The quartet has since become the toast of India, a testament to a spirit that soared as high as the tricolour that went up as they assembled on the podium with pride.

"Well, life is now overturned. After we won the semis, all four of us experienced euphoria. Our families became emotional, we were missing them dearly. But let me tell you, we did not celebrate at all after we won the match. The media guys kept asking if we had big plans on celebrating our feat. I said we would rather not celebrate. (laughs) We decided we would go to our rooms and rest for the night, then talk about the match the next morning. That we were playing against South Africa in the final and that they have been multi-time champions - we wanted to keep it out of our minds. We did not think about it even once. We thought we would play the best match of our lives in these two hours. That if we played well today, then 'humari life bann jayegi'. (chuckles) Everyone would then come to know what lawn bowls is. And that’s exactly what we did the next day", she explains, admitting it would take a while for her to come to terms with what she had achieved.

Precision under pressure? 

The idea behind the game is straightforward; that is to deliver the bowl as close as possible to the jack or to knock the opponent's ball out of proximity. When all the bowls have been played, the players decide who has the closest bowl or bowls to the jack. However, the setting may be tranquil, but don’t be fooled – this is lawn bowls and the stakes are too high. The job is certainly not as easy as it looks. It takes strategy and tactics. 

"We had to win a medal for sure, it did not matter if it was bronze or anything else. But now it became a matter of self-respect for us because a lot of people would write us off for what we played. Honestly, I never imagined it would be gold. We were a little worried because we have always failed at the quarter-final stage. So, this was always in the back of our minds," she avows. Such conditions might have seen others wilt under pressure, but not Pinki and her comrade, who remained calm among the boisterous surroundings of Victoria Park to claim the coveted trophy.

Pinky, once a cricketer-cum-coach, is endowed with an uncanny ability to get her bowls to curl precisely between others at the opposite end of the green. No matter how much you squinted, aimed, and worked on the form, you would barely manage to throw a bowl that slipped past her to land by the jack. 

Years ago, she was intrigued at the sight of 3-plus-pound lawn bowls rolling on a green, with a diverse group of competing athletes flocked to her school premises which were chosen as a venue for Delhi nationals. 

“I was at the peak of my career while I was playing cricket. I wanted to compete in the Rani Jhansi trophy, also at the national level. There was an exam and I also had to play in a tournament. I feel playing is nice but you should also study. I gave more importance to my study, I broke my rhythm. Now since it was gone, I thought of applying for a Masters's degree. Then I did my diploma in SAI so that I can teach youth. The more I learn, the better I can teach. Then I taught, nurtured players, won matches - it was a nice experience," she reminisces.

While the physical side of the game can be picked up quickly, she admits, 'the mental side is you never stop learning'. Pinki has been hooked on bowls since she first gave it a go as part of the National Games tournament in 2007. A fortuitous silver medal there meant turning over a new leaf as she perfectly transitioned from a cricket mentor to lawn bowls coach in her school, months later.

"That’s how my journey with lawn bowls began. I went to the trials in 2009 to represent my country at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and as fate has it, I was selected. It couldn't have happened at a better time," she smiles and nods. 

Pinki revealed her interest in lawn bowls blossomed since leaving bat and ball for the grassy green. It was the beginning of an obsession that has brought her new acquaintances, scratched a competitive itch, and offered plenty of opportunities for keeping fit. For the game itself, throwing the bowl is the main skill. When playing one on one, each person uses four bowls. You roll your bowls in the direction of a jack, or a little white ball. Whoever has the most bowls closest to the jack gets the most points. 

Pinki's secret mantra to CWG gold: Chemistry, teamwork, harmony

If strong winds, wet and unpredictable surfaces, and one's poor judgement weren’t enough of a challenge in the sport, there is another hurdle that can make or break a team. Chemistry. Teamwork. Harmony. 

As Pinki rightly puts it, "we would always put the team ahead of our individual goals. The four of us before anything else. This was the first time we were playing as a team. We were always together for meals or even while venturing out. This is the way we thought we would understand each other better. There should be unity in the team game. There must be understanding. Because we are playing a team event in the end. If a person’s morale was down, we would sit together and talk it out. If someone could not score, we would never say that you did not play well, rather say that she tried her best and we would cheer on her to play better in the next round. This is how the team would get motivated. And you must have watched our semis and the final, there were many ups and downs. There were several crucial moments. During those times, the entire team came together and we had several team huddles. This gold medal is a result of the unified passion to win that we had as a team."

While it is unfair to draw parallels in any sport or in any walk of life but as humans we still have the tendency to fall for the trap. Failing to hold myself back from probing into whether she wanted to liken this feat to any of India's other history-making sporting glories, Pinki was characteristically forthright in her reply. "There may be several of them, but nothing can beat ours. Mujhe toh kisika performance humse behtar laga hi nahi. Humara sabse acha raha hai, aur hamesha rehega," she signed off.