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Indian Women's Lawn Bowls team lead Lovely Choubey has revealed an interesting connection with former Indian men's cricket team skipper MS Dhoni.
The very first name that pops up when someone mentions Ranchi is undoubtedly Dhoni. The wicketkeeper enjoyed plenty of success with the Men in Blue and etched his name into Indian sporting history.
The Indian Women's Lawn Bowls team seem to be on their way to doing the same following their brilliant displays at the Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG 2022).
India lead Lovely Choubey and Dhoni hail from the same city. She recently stated that the 41-year-old showed a keen interest and knew "a lot" about Lawn Bowls.
Choubey, a constable with Jharkhand Police, trains regularly at the RK Anand Bowls Green Stadium in Ranchi. Dhoni is one of the high-profile visitors she has often encountered during her training sessions.
Choubey went on to state that Dhoni is well acquainted with their coach and has visited the team a couple of times earlier.
"Dhoni sir knows our coach in Ranchi and has come to see us at the greens twice over the years. We have a Dewri Mata temple closeby, when he goes there he comes to see us as well," she told PTI in an interaction from Birmingham.
She reminscised on the talks she has had with Dhoni about the game, adding:
"We have had a chat about the sport as well. He said that whenever he is in Australia, he goes to play Lawn Bowls."
CWG 2022: Indian Women's Lawn Bowls team on the cusp of history
The Indian Women's Lawn Bowls team assured itself a historic first-ever CWG medal after defeating New Zealand 16-13 in the semi-finals of the Women’s Fours event.
They conceded a 0-5 lead after the second-end to find themselves in a spot of bother. The Indian team, comprising Lovely Choubey (lead), Pinki (second), Nayanmoni Saikia (third) and Rupa Rani Tirkey (skip), then made a strong comeback.
After end-9, they were tied 7-7 and after end-10, India took 10-7 lead. But it was a close contest between the two sides and New Zealand were marginally 13-12 ahead after the end-14.
A brilliant shot from Tirkey helped the Indian Women's Lawn Bowls team seal the game with a 16-13 scoreline.
