Commonwealth Games 2026: India’s Putul Sonowal beats Cecil Alexander to continue winning run in lawn bowls

India's Putul Sonowal defeated Cecil Alexander of the Falkland Islands 7-5, 6-8, 1-0 in a tie-break to continue his impressive run at the Commonwealth Games 2026. The reigning Asian champion will next face a Malaysian opponent in Section D.

Glasgow: India’s top lawn bowls star Putul Sonowal continued his fine run at the Commonwealth Games 2026 with a hard-fought victory over Cecil Alexander of the Falkland Islands in the Men’s Singles sectional play in Glasgow on Friday.

The contest went down to the tie-break, in which Putul held his nerve to secure victory.

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The reigning Asian Champion, Sonowal, won the first set 7-5, taking the lead with a narrow win. Cecil Alexander fought back to win the second set 8-6 and took the matter to the tie-breaker. Sonowal then sealed victory by winning the tie-break 1-0.

The Indian star will next face a Malaysian player in his next Section D match on Saturday.

Earlier on Thursday, Sonowal continued India’s superb start in the bowls competition by pulling off a major upset on his Commonwealth Games debut, beating reigning World Champion and World Bowls Hall of Fame inductee Ryan Bester in men’s singles sectional play.

Sonowal started his campaign in Section D of the preliminary competition, defeating Canada’s Bester in a thrilling encounter that went down to the wire and was decided in a tiebreaker. Sonowal won the tiebreaker after Match 2 in Round 1 of Section D had ended 1-1 in regulation time.

Ranked 21st in the world, the Indian clinched a close first set 5-4 to take the lead against Bester, a two-time CWG silver medallist. But the Canadian came back and took the second set with a 7-3 scoreline.

Bester, who claimed a bronze in Men’s Singles in the 2006 edition in Manchester before claiming a silver each in 2014 in Glasgow and 2018 Gold Coast editions, won the toss and had the first roll in the tiebreak. The Canadian is very experienced, as he has also won seven medals in World Outdoor Championships in Singles and Pairs, including a gold and a bronze in Singles and Pairs in the 2023 edition.

However, reigning Asian champion Sonowal’s opening attempt landed close to the kitty, which ultimately proved enough to seal the win.