New Delhi: At Tokyo 2020, Lovlina Borgohain was the only Indian boxer to claim a medal, clinching bronze with a win against an opponent from Chinese Taipei. At the upcoming Paris Olympics, she would dearly want it to change, hoping to go all the way.
Her bronze medal was a significant feat as it was only the second instance of an Indian women bagging a medal at Olympics, which she confirmed when she won her first two bouts.
Lovlina is already part of an elite group of three boxers from the country – after Mary Kom and Vijender Singh – to win a medal at Olympics.
At Paris, she has to win one more on the trot to get into the title round, for which the 26-year-old has taken great pains to prepare herself.
Adding to her hurdles would be a leap from the 69kg category, in which she claimed the Tokyo bronze, to 75kg after her old weight category was scrapped from Paris 2024.
“My performance overall after changing the weight (class) has been good,” Lovlina has told PTI.
“Winning the World Championship in the Olympic category was huge. I had to control my weight before (for 69kg), but now I am set in this weight (75).
“I am tall for a 69kg category boxer and I had to control my weight. When I had to control weight, I had to stop eating, I didn’t feel that strong then. But at 75kg, I feel stronger. The speed which I already had helps.”
All you need to know about Lovlina
Hailing from Assam’s Baramukhia village, her father Tiken is a businessman, who initially struggled to fund her daughter’s boxing initiative.
Being the youngest of three daughters, Lovlina was drawn towards kick-boxing in the footsteps of her twin sisters Licha and Lima.
But a Sports Authority of India trial at her high school Barpathar Girls High School in which she participated chaged her course.
Her inborn talent wasn’t lost on the eyes of the scouts from where she landed under renowned coach Padum Chandra Bodo at the SAI STC Guwahati in 2012, who moulded her after which she improved under coach Sandhya Gurung.
Recent performance
Lovlina has moved up to 75kg seamlessly, first becoming the Asian champion 2022 and then the world champion a year later.
She followed it up with a sliver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games, which earned India a quota at Paris 2024 and a bronze at the Czech Republic Grand Prix in 2024.
However, she is aware that in 75kg she would face tougher opponents whose punches have far greater power that those in 69kg.
The field includes world champion Khadija El-Mardi, world championship bronze medallist Davina Michel, Asian Games gold medallist Li Qian, European Games champion Aoife O’Rourke, Commonwealth Games champion Tammara Thibeault and two-time world championship medallist Atheyna Bylon.
“The opponents (in 75kg) are strong but I fit well in this category. I am more comfortable in this category than 69kg because I can eat properly, so the energy level is high. I feel stronger and I can train better. With strength and conditioning, I can increase muscle and power,” she has said.
To add another dimension to her game, she has tried to improve her technique ahead of the Paris campaign.
“Earlier, I had a more defensive game but now I go ahead and attack,” Lovlina added.
Boxer Lovlina Borgohain claimed a bronze medal at Tokyo 2020 and would be hoping to win gold at 2024 Paris Olympics Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
