All eyes were on Bowls and Para Bowls at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games today (Thursday) as the sport had the honour of providing the first day of action of the biggest sporting event in the UK this summer.
An extra day of competition was added to the schedule for the 23rd edition of the Games after ‘unprecedented demand’ to participate in the new-look games which sees history being made with the Games being held indoors for the first time
Bowls and para bowls are among the fastest growing sports across the Commonwealth and took the spotlight at the SEC Centre.
Even HRH Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, was in the stands for the opening sessions.
The Games sees the largest entry in the men’s singles with 26 nations, including Scotland and the home nations, the crown dependencies of Jersey, Isle of Man and Guernsey, plus Malaysia, Australia, India, Pakistan, Falkland Islands and Cook Islands.
Defending men’s singles champion Aaron Wilson, of Australia, returns to the discipline in pursuit of more history.
Wilson, affectionately known as Disco, is contesting his third Commonwealth Games and already sits alongside English great David Bryant as the only men to have won back-to-back Commonwealth Games singles gold medals.
Should Wilson – who is due to be inducted into the World Bowls Hall of Fame next week – secure a third consecutive singles title in Glasgow, he would join Bryant as the only players in history to claim three straight Commonwealth Games singles gold medals, following Bryant’s remarkable run of four consecutive titles between 1962 and 1978.
But he was pushed all the way in his opening game by former Welsh bronze medallist Jason Greenslade who is donning the Guernsey colours after relocating to the Channel Islands four years ago.
Wilson took the first set 8-4 before having to dig deep scoring a three on the last end of the second set to pinch a draw and take the match 6-6.
Aaron Wilson, Australia, is on the hunt for his third consecutive gold medal in the men’s
singles
Home favourite Jason Banks, Scotland, who made headlines winning the unprecedented World Indoor Bowls Championship golden treble in 2025 and reached No 1 World Bowls Series status, also got his campaign off to a winning start, as did 2022 silver medallist Gary Kelly, of Northern Ireland, while there was disappointment for Canada’s most experienced athlete in Glasgow Ryan Bester, the reigning World Bowls Championship men’s singles holder, who was defeated 2-1 by Putul Sonowal, of India, and World Cup men’s singles champion Sam Tolchard, of England, appearing at his fifth Games, who was beaten 2-1 by World Bowls champion of champions silver medallist Rajnesh Prasad.
The women’s pairs also began today with 25 teams competing.
Australia, England, Wales, New Zealand – whose lead Selina Goddard was celebrating her birthday, Guernsey – featuring World Bowls Indoor Championship’s women’s champion Alison Merrien MBE and partner Rose Ogier – and India among the winners. The Indian pair – Pinki Singh and Rupa Rani Tirkey – on the hunt for back-to-back Games gold medals after making history four years ago winning India’s first ever bowls gold medal.
In addition, Glasgow 2026 has the joint largest para bowls programme offered at a Commonwealth Games.
There are three medal tussles – para men’s pairs, para women’s pairs and para mixed pairs, which kicks off the action tomorrow, with Scotland, England, Australia and New Zealand represented in all three.
The full schedule and results are available here: https://www.glasgow2026.com/schedule/day-by-day?code=LBO&startDate=2026-07-24
To view the full photo gallery, see: https://worldbowls.pixieset.com/2026commonwealthgames/
