Who is Lovlina Borgohain: India has been assured of a second medal at the Tokyo Olympics. 23-year-old boxer Lovlina Borgohain has progressed to the semi-final of the welterweight category (69kg) on Friday by cruising past Nien-Chin Chen 4:1 in her quarterfinal bout.
Borgohain has assured herself and India of at least a bronze medal. However, her eyes surely will be fixed on the gold as she enters the semifinal bout on August 4.
In her next bout, Borgohain will take on Turkey's world number one Busenaz Surmeneli who has won both her bouts so far with a 5:0 scoreline. The young champion from Assam was the second Indian boxer in action on Friday with Simranjit Kaur losing to Thailand's Sudaporn Seesondee in the 60kg category's pre-quarter-final.
How Did Lovlina Borgohain Start Out?
Borgohain started out as a kickboxer before Sports Authority of India's Padum Boro, while scouting for talent in Assam's Golaghat district, discovered her talent. He inspired her to take up boxing and she won a bronze medal in her debut world championship in 2018, following it up with another bronze the next year.
She has been undergoing training for months to become India's top-most medal contender this year at the Games. She became the first woman pugilist from Assam to qualify for the Olympics. The two-time bronze world champion and second seed, Borgohain became only the second Indian female boxer and third overall after Mary Kom, who lost her round of 16 match on Thursday, and Vijender Singh to clinch an Olympic medal. This is her first Olympic Games.
The aggressive boxer had, two years ago, in an interview with SheThePeople, said that in her family her father is a huge supporter of pursuing sports. She noted that her dream of winning Olympic gold was getting stronger every day and even though the injury brings her down sometimes, she was excited to get back to full fitness for the qualifying events. Subsequently, she finished third place at the Asia and Oceania Boxing Olympics qualifiers, defeating Maftunakhon Melieva of Uzbekistan in April this year.
Golaghat to Tokyo
Speaking about her early beginnings and the way forward, the aggressive boxer had confessed, “I come from a lower-middle-class family, that belongs to Assam’s Golaghat. From an early age, my twin sisters and I were taught to be strong in order to pursue our dreams or to be successful in life. My mother is a very strong woman and despite having a poor economic condition she never let us suffer in any situation. My sisters are well-trained in martial arts and seeing them I also got interested in doing so.” More here.
Borgohain has won two World Championships bronze medals and two Asian Championships bronze medals in the past. The youngster, who was laid low by COVID-19 last year and missed a training trip to Europe because of it, had earlier said, “I will not rest until I win an Olympic gold."
"No matter what the universe has planned for me, the fact that I still am strong after the injury gives me hope to do much better and greater,” she told us in 2019 after sustaining an injury.
/shethepeople/media/agency_attachments/iUYfaBbcMozaYLoGnoov.png)
Follow Us/shethepeople/media/post_banners/bexXriFPVnscTYWlYCwZ.jpg)