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The wait for a second medal for India in the Tokyo Olympics is over : Lovlina clinched a spot in the welterweight semis.
The 23-year-old female boxer stormed straight into the semis and bagged a bronze and numberless new fans with her astounding performance in her debut Olympic Games. Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won India’s first medal at the 2020 summer Olympics on July 24. With a total lift of 202kg (87kg snatch and 115kg in clean and jerk), she had clinched the silver medal, the first for India in weightlifting. After that India was eagerly waiting for another medal. But this morning Lovlina ended the wait for the people of India. After beating Chinese Taipei’s Chen Nien-Chin by a split decision, boxer Lovlina Borgohain roared into the semi-final of the women’s welterweight category and confirmed at least a bronze medal. However the young boxer is not going to be satisfied with a bronze and we the spectators don’t expect any less from this fresh talent.
Lovlina in the Tokyo Olympics The debut Boxer : Diligent for the Gold
Lovlina had defeated Nadine Apetz of Germany in her Round of 16 bout 3:2 on Tuesday. She will now take on top seeded Tirkish boxer Busenaz Surmeneli in the semi-final bout. Lovlina became only the second Indian female boxer with her historic win, to clinch an Olympic medal in boxing. Not only that, she also became the third overall after Mary Kom and Vijender Singh to bag an Olympic medal. In her quarterfinal bout, Lovlina put in a brilliant display to win all three rounds comfortably against the Chinese Taipei boxer, Chen Nien-Chin.
This 5’10” tall boxer used her height tactically and displayed how an intelligent athlete she is. In the previous bout she played aggressively and lost to the same opponent but this time she played calmly, as advised by her coach. She had won the first round 3:2 with three out of five judges giving the verdict in favor of her. In the next round she dominated and the judges awarded Round 2 in her favor unanimously. In the third and final round, Lovlina secured a 4:1 win to seal her place in the semi-finals.
Early Life and Training of Lovlina Borgohain
Lovlina, born on 2 October 1997, hails from the Golaghat district of Assam. Her father Tiken is a small-scale businessman and struggled financially to support his daughter’s ambition. She has elder twin sisters Licha and Lima. They competed at the national level at kickboxing, but did not pursue it beyond that. Lovlina too started her career as a kickboxer. But she switched to boxing later when she found the opportunity to do so. Lovlina participated in the trials held at her high school, Barpathar Girls High School by The Sports Authority of India. The Renowned Coach Padum Boro noticed her and eventually she got selected and started training in 2012 under his guidance. She was later coached by Chief Women’s Coach Shiv Singh.
Her career’s biggest break was her selection to participate in the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the welterweight boxing category. However, she hadn’t received any official intimation about her selection and her announcement was the subject of controversy. When the story broke at a major media outlet only then she found out about her selection. At the Commonwealth Games, Sandy Ryan from the UK defeated her in the quarterfinals. Sandy Ryan eventually went on to win gold in that category.
Lovlina won a gold medal in the welterweight category at the inaugural India Open – an international boxing championship held in February 2018. She won the bronze medal at the President’s Cup held in Astana in June 2017. In the same year she won another bronze medal at the Asian Boxing Championships in Vietnam in November 2017. She later won a silver medal at the Ulaanbaatar Cup in Mongolia in June 2018 and a bronze medal at the 13th International Silesian Championship in Poland in September 2018.
Achievements of Lovlina Borgohain
She has become the first woman from Assam to qualify for the Olympics. Also, after Shiva Thapa, the second boxer from the state to represent the country in the Olympics. At the 1st India Open International Boxing Tournament held in New Delhi she won a gold. At the 2nd India Open International Boxing Tournament which was held in Guwahati she bagged a silver. She also secured 3rd rank in the 69 kg Welterweight category.
Events |
Category |
Medals |
Lovlina Borgohain in the World Championships |
| 2018 New Delhi | Welterweight | Bronze |
| 2019 Ulan-Ude | Welterweight | Bronze |
Lovlina Borgohain in the Asian Championships |
| 2017 Ho Chi Minh City | Welterweight | Bronze |
| 2021 Dubai | Welterweight | Bronze |
Awards and Honor
She was presented with the Arjuna Award in the year 2020 by the President Ram Nath Kovind virtually for her outstanding performance in boxing.
Paris 2024 Olympics: Lovlina Borgohain
The Indian boxer who won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, competed in the Paris 2024 Olympics in the women’s 75kg category. After advancing to the quarter-finals with a win against Sunniva Hofstad of Norway, she faced a challenging bout against Li Qian of China. Unfortunately, Lovlina lost in the quarter-finals by a 4:1 decision, ending her campaign without a medal this time around. Despite the setback, she remains determined to come back stronger.
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