Image Credits: @BFI
- Jul
- 30
Boxer Lovlina Borgohain assures India's second medal in Tokyo
Press Release Debutant Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) assured India of their first boxing medal at the ongoing Olympic Games when she upstaged former world champion Nien-Chin Chen of Chinese Taipei to enter the semifinals.
The 23-year-old Assam boxer prevailed 4-1 to make the last-four where she will square off against reigning world champion Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey, who hammered Anna Lysenko in her quarterfinal bout.
CREATES HISTORY 🤩@LovlinaBorgohai puts up a brilliant performance and secures 1st medal for 🇮🇳 from boxing in 69 kg at @Tokyo2020 She beat Chinese Taipei's Chen NC 4-1 in QF to reach semis 🥳#RingKeBaazigar#boxing#Tokyo2020#Cheer4India#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/28cpzoUxZY
Borgohain, a two-time world championship bronze-medallist, displayed tremendous calm in the face of a plucky opponent, who had beaten her in the past. The youngster was laid low by COVID-19 last year and missed a training trip to Europe because of it.
“It’s a news that we all were eagerly waiting to hear. This is a proud moment not just for boxing but also for Assam and for the entire country. It was a very courageous effort by Lovlina, indeed. She was down with covid last year and was admitted to the hospital. Her mother too was going through a life-threatening ailment. But Lovlina is a born fighter. This is a huge milestone for Indian boxing and the way this young girl has proved herself makes us all proud. We at BFI would like to congratulate her on this achievement. This is also a testament to the process that we followed in the last four years. However, as I said to Lovlina today, this is just a start. She needs to plan carefully and ensure she wins gold for India. Lovlina is symbolic of a young, new and fearless India. I am sure that young boxers like her will ensure many more Olympic medals in the future,” BFI President Ajay Singh said.
India's previous boxing medals have come through Vijender Singh (2008) and M C Mary Kom (2012). Both of them had won bronze medals and Borgohain would look to better that.
