- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA were assured a second medal at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics on Friday (30) when boxer Lovlina Borgohain entered the semi-finals of the women’s welterweight category by beating Chinese Taipei’s Chen Nien-Chin at the Kokugikan Arena by a split decision.
India’s only medal so far at the Games has come in weightlifting in which Mirabai Chanu won a silver last Saturday (24).
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Borgogain showed great technical prowess as she edged the first round 3-2 and then completely dominated her opponent in the second round. She was dominant in the final round as well and won it 4-1. She is set to become the second Indian woman boxer to win a medal at the mega event after MC Mary Kom who won a bronze in the 2012 edition but lost in the round of 16 at Tokyo on Thursday (29). India’s first-ever medal in boxing came in Beijing 2008 where Vijender Kumar won a bronze.
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Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, congratulated Borgohain over her medal, tweeting, “This is a BIG punch Red heart You continue to make us proud #LovlinaBorgohain and keep India’s flag high & shining at #TokyoOlympics2020. Well done”
This is a BIG punch ❤️
You continue to make us proud #LovlinaBorgohain and keep India’s flag high & shining at #TokyoOlympics2020.
Well done 👏 @LovlinaBorgohai pic.twitter.com/RYFACkNXUN
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 30, 2021
Like Chanu, Borgogain also hails from India’s northeast. The 23-year-old was born in Golaghat in the state of Assam and is participating in her first Olympic Games. Her father Tiken is a small-scale businessman and found it challenging to support his daughter’s boxing ambition. Her mother is Mamoni Borgohain.
Lovlina’s elder sisters Licha and Lima also competed in kickboxing at national level but did not pursue it beyond that. Lovlina also started her career as a kickboxer but later switched to boxing. The Sports Authority of India, the country’s apex national sports body, held trials at her high school Barpathar Girls High School in which she took part. She was selected by renowned coach Padum Boro, who started training her in 2012. Last year, she contracted Covid-19 and missed a training trip to Europe. On Friday, she let out a huge scream after winning her bout, summarising all the hard work she and her near ones made to see an Olympic medal.
The career break for the boxer, who was later coached by chief women’s coach Shiv Singh, came when she was picked for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. However, she reportedly found her selection in media reports and not through any official confirmation. She lost in the quarterfinals of that tournament to the UK’s Sandy Ryan who eventually bagged the gold.
But Lovlina’s international feats started off in 2017 when she won the bronze medal at the Asian Championships in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
In 2019, she won the bronze at the World Championships in New Delhi. Next year, too, he pocketed the bronze at the same tournament held in Ulan-Ude, Russia.
In May this year, Lovlina won yet another bronze at the Asian Championships in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
Lovlina, however, has won gold medal at the 1st India Open International Boxing Tournament held in New Delhi in 2018 and silver medal at 2nd India Open International Boxing held in Guhahati in 2019.
She has become the first woman from Assam to qualify for the Olympics and the second boxer from the state to represent the country after Shiva Thapa.
Last year, Lovlina became the sixth person from Assam to receive the Arjuna Award, a prestigious sports award in India.
