Who is Lovely Choubey, India’s lawn bowl player?

Lovely Choubey, belonging to a middle-class family in Jharkhand, represented India in the 2022 Commonwealth Games competing in the lawn bowls, which is one of the oldest games in the history of the CWG.

The Indian women’s fours team, which includes Choubey along with Nayanmoni Saikia, Pinki Singh and Rupa Rani Tirkey, made a brilliant effort in the semis against New Zealand to enter the final. 

Lovely Choubey made her debut in the quadrennial event in 2014 before earning a commendable 5th-placed finish in 2018 at Gold Coast. She first competed in a national event in 2008 and bagged a gold medal in her debut appearance.

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The 42-year-old is employed in Jharkhand police. She also has two silver medals in Women’s Pairs and Singles from the 10th Asian Lawn Bowls Championships in 2014 and a gold in Mixed Pairs from an Asia Pacific tournament in 2013.

Lawn Bowls has been a part of the CWG since the first edition of the quadrennial event in 1930. In the 2022 edition of the Games, both men and women’s teams have reached the knockout stage now.

The outdoor game involves a ball (known as a bowl) which is rolled toward a smaller stationary ball, called a jack. The game is generally played on a flat lawn, about 40–42 yards (37–38 metres).

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In CWG 2022, India were trailing 1-6 at the completion of the 4th end in the semi-final but hit back to win 16-13 at the end of the 15 ends. New Zealand were favorites to win the match. They took a  comprehensive 5-0 lead after two ends and extended it to 6-1 after four ends. The Indian team came back strongly and took the lead (7-6) after eight ends. 

After end-9, they were tied 7-7 and after end-10, India took 10-7 lead. A brilliant shot from Rupa Rani Tirkey helped India seal the game.