The Assam Women’s Four team’s march to the semifinals of the Lawn Bowls tournament at the 36th National Games was halted on Thursday after they were defeated 11-12 by Bengal in their second league match here.
Following a resounding 33-3 victory over Manipur in their first match, the Assam side, led by Birmingham Commonwealth Games participant Tania Choudhary and comprised of Bangita Hazarika, Adinita Kakoty, and Ananya Saikia, failed to maintain the momentum at the Kensville Golf and Country Club near here on Thursday
Meanwhile, the Bengal squad of Renu Mohfa, Manisha Srivastava, Reema Pawa, and Anchor Malhotra had won their second league game after defeating hosts Gujarat on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Assam got off to a slow start, down 1-5 after the opening two ends, but steadily battled their way back to tie the game at 7-7.
In a see-saw fight between the neighbouring states, the Bengal team pulled together to reclaim a small 11-10 lead after the 11th end. However, their jubilation was short-lived as Assam kept the opponents guessing by tying the scores after the 12th end but then failed to maintain the momentum, eventually losing narrowly.
“As expected it was a close match as both teams have experienced campaigners. It is a setback for us, especially because we wanted to win it and make our way to the semifinals. But every loss teaches you something, and we will try to pick the positives from this game and take it forward in the last league match against Gujarat on Friday. That will be a virtual knockout game for us, we hope to get back stronger against the home side,” Tania told a reporter after the loss.
Meanwhile, Manipur dropped their second game in a row, effectively ruining their aspirations of reaching the knockout stages. Manipur, still stinging from the humiliation at the hands of Assam in the first game, fought hard against hosts Gujarat on Thursday before falling 10-12.
In the other matches of the day, lawn bowls powerhouse Jharkhand easily defeated Odisha by a score of 33-3, while Delhi defeated Bihar by a score of 20-9.