Marya
India’s new Medalist at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 Lovlina Borgohain is a 23-year-old Assamese Boxer. She hails from Baromukhia village, Barpathar town, Golaghat district, Assam. After a week of no-good news of a medal for India at the Olympic games, Lovlina came as a flicker of hope for the nation on Friday. The wait for India is over as Lovlina won the women’s welterweight quarter-final by beating Chinese Taipei’s Nien Chin Chen with a 4-1 score. The interesting part is India doesn’t know which colour medal Lovlina is bringing home as with her victory, the 23-year-old Assamese athlete advanced to the semifinals, ensuring herself and India at least a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Early Years
Born in a small village in the Golaghat district, Assam, Lovlina belonged to a poor family. Her life has been full of hardships, difficulties, hard work, but she never left the determination to overcome all this. Borgohain was inspired by her elder twin sisters, Licha and Lima, who competed at the national level in kickboxing.
Lovlina began training in Muay Thai when she was 13 years old, subsequently moving to the box. Her father owns a tiny local business, and her mother is a housewife. She was discovered by renowned Indian boxing coach Padum Boro at a Sports Authority of India (SAI) trial at her elementary school, Barpathar Girls High School. Boro began teaching her in 2012, and she subsequently began training with India’s chief women’s boxing coach Shiv Singh.
Lovlina Borgohain’s Journey and Achievements
Lovlina is the third Indian Boxer after Vijender Singh and Mary Kom to bring the Olympic medal home. She earned a bronze medal in the President’s Cup in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2017, and she added another bronze to her collection at the Asian Boxing Championships in Vietnam later that year. Following a gold medal in the 2018 India Open, she was selected to represent India at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She lost the quarters. It wasn’t an easy phase for her, but she was determined to fight back and get back her strength. Hence, after losing at CWG 2018, Borgohain decided to focus on her mental toughness, realizing it’s the mental fitness factor she needs to focus on.
She made a grand comeback and continued her winning streak at championships and games. She went on to earn bronze medals in the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Ulan-Ude, Russia in 2018 and 2019, as well as silver at the Ulaanbaatar Cup in Mongolia and bronze at the 13th International Silesian Championship in Poland. President Ram Nath Kovind virtually handed her the Arjuna Award in 2020 for her remarkable achievement in boxing.
The Tokyo Olympics 2020
The pugilist from Assam won the final of the BFI trials in New Delhi in the women’s 69kg division. She qualified for the Olympics by defeating Maftuna Khon Melieva of Uzbekistan in the Asian Olympic qualifiers’ quarterfinals. By winning the quarterfinals, Borgohain stormed her way into the semi-final, securing a medal for herself. She is aiming for the gold medal to add in front of the country’s name. On August 4, Borgohain will eye a spot in the final facing off against top seed Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey.
As the entire nation is looking forward to the grand match, we can assure you that the country is proud of her and will welcome her with open arms irrespective of the result. She stands as an inspiration for many. We wish Borgohain all the best!
