India’s Putul Sonowal made headlines for defeating the reigning world outdoor champion Ryan Bester in the bowls event at the Commonwealth Games 2026 on Thursday, July 23. Sonowal, the 43-year-old, defeated the Canadian champion in a tie-breaker in Section D to march into the next round.
Sonowal, who is making his Commonwealth Games debut, won the first set 5-4 before the Canadian made a comeback to with a 7-3 win in the second set. The contest moved into the tie-breaker, where the Indian kept his nerve to bag a famous win. He will now be up against Falkland Islands’ Cecil Alexander in the second match tomorrow.ย
The victory stands as a historic one, considering Bester is the current world outdoor champion. He has seven World Outdoor Championships medals in Singles and Pairs. The Canadian also won a gold and a bronze in the singles event in 2023 in Paris. Bester won a bronze in the 2006 CWG and silver each in the 2014 and 2018 Games. He was also placed in the first World Bowls Hall of Fame class in 2025.
Who is Putul Sonowal? Know about him here
Putul is a 43-year-old man from Assam who represents Assam Police. He made his Commonwealth Games debut at the age of 43. He has won a gold medal at the Asian Lawn Bowls Championships in 2026, a huge milestone in his career.ย
Putul also has a gold to his name in the men’s triples event in the National Lawn Bowls event and a bronze in the men’s singles event at the Nationals.ย
Sports Authority of India noted Putul’s historic win over Bester. “Putul Sonowal secured India’s best-ever victory in the sport by defeating reigning World Champion Ryan Bester of Canada in the Men’s Singles sectional play at the Commonwealth Games 2026. A remarkable performance and a memorable start to the campaign. Congratulations, Putul!” SAI wrote on its social media.
India women beat Malta in tie-break
Meanwhile, the Indian women’s pair of Rupa Rani Tirkey (lead) and Pinki Singh (skip) unleashed a dominant performance to beat the Maltese duo of Rebecca Louise Rixon (lead) and Connie-Leigh Rixon (skip) in a tie-breaker.
The Indian pair registered a dominant win of 7-1 in the first set in section B. The Maltese pair bounced back in the second set and bagged it 3-4 as the clash went into a tie-breaker.ย However, Rupa and Pinki held their nerves in the tie-breaker despite trailing behind and won the game on the last bowl. They will now be up against South Africa in their second match of Section B on Friday.
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