Lovlina’s historic medal winning moment at Tokyo Olympics.
Lovlina Borgohen (23) of Guwahati, Assam, who won a bronze medal for the country in welterweight women’s boxing at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, is happy with the medal, but she is happy that a new road has been paved for her home after her sport came to light in the Olympics.
She was also curious to see the road in Tokyo. The news from the Northeast is not getting much coverage in the national media, just as Lovlina Borgohen (Date of Birth: 2 Oct 1997) has received very little coverage in the media so far. There was huge excitement in Assam about his performance in the Olympics. People kept watching his match on mobiles in the street corner.
There was so much excitement in Assam about her hopes of victory that a few days ago, the Chief Minister of Assam and MLAs from the Opposition staged a bicycle rally in support of Lovelina.
While PV Sindhu was battling for a bronze medal in badminton, Lovlina’s bronze medal was only confirmed on July 30, when she had to enter the ring for silver and gold in the semifinals. In front of her was the female player, Turkey’s Busenaz Surmenelli, who faced Lovlina in the semifinals, an experienced and world number one who defeated Lovlina in the first round to win the match under mental pressure. Each player has their specialties and limitations. Lovlina felt bad that I could have played better. This time they worked hard and she got the fruits.
Undoubtedly, we only see the player’s gold and silver medals, we don’t see his details and status. Preparing for any sport is like penance and one has to live a very disciplined and ascetic life. Lovlina, born October 2, 1997, in Tiken Borgohen and Mamoni in the Golaghat district of Assam, had to struggle.
A father running a small business had to face financial challenges to fulfill his daughter’s dreams. His two sisters already want to do kickboxing. When she became national champion, Lovlina also did kickboxing in the early days.
But Lovlina wanted to do something different. It is said that once the father brought some food wrapped in a newspaper, the newspaper had a photo of the great boxer Mohammed Ali, about whom the father detailed and inspired the girl. Lovlina then decided to become a boxer. When the Sports Authority of India organised practice matches to find sports talent at the school level, it caught the attention of the coaches.
This is where Lovlina’s boxing started. Lovlina’s passion for boxing was so great that in the next few years she won a bronze medal at the Asian Boxing Championships. In 2018 and 2019, they won bronze medals in their respective categories at the World Championships. And began to make its mark internationally. But he had to face many difficulties to prepare for this particular category of game.
However, certainly, how the girls did well at the Tokyo Olympics this time and attracted the attention of the media, seeing the performance of the girls in the Olympics inspires other girls to play for the country. Girls in remote areas in particular will have the opportunity to prove themselves.
However, during the Corona Crisis, Lovlina’s bronze medal would be called a major achievement. She could not even properly prepare for the Olympics due to the challenge of infection. He had to train in his room for a long time because many of the people who trained him were suffering from corona infection. He also gained training experience through online media.
Meanwhile, her mother had a kidney transplant while she was with her mother, which disrupted her training program. Amid all these difficulties, Lovlina travelled to the Olympics and bagged a bronze medal in India’s bag. However, the Tokyo Olympics have boosted her confidence and she is now talking about getting ready for the World Championships, the Commonwealth Games, and the Asian Games. She is expected to turn her bronze medal into gold at the next Olympics.
She was influenced by her older twin sisters who were trained in martial arts. “After realising that the form of martial art we have been practising is not a recognised Olympic sport, I decided to go for boxing.” She took up the sport seriously after Indian boxing coach Padum Boro recognised her talent during a trial at the Sports Authority of India. “Boxing is everything for me. Aside from the tactical or technical aspect of it, boxing taught me the lesson to be a better person. One thing I’ll always cherish is that boxing gave me the power to embrace my failure.” (olympicchannel.com, 14 Mar 2020; shethepeople.tv, 08 Jun 2019)
