10 things to know about Lovlina Borgohain, India's bronze medallist in Tokyo Olympics

Today, Lovlina—the first woman from Assam to qualify for the Olympics—has assured a medal for India at the world’s biggest sporting event in Tokyo. Despite so many obstacles, Borgohain, who admits she isn’t the most fearless boxer around, entered Tokyo oozing confidence, bolstered by the hope that a billion Indians were praying for her success. However, she felt nervous in her first match additional reading and wasn’t able to play the way she wanted to. The pressure of the opening round over, Borgohain was next up against Chen, an opponent she’d never managed to beat in four attempts.

She failed to win a medal though after losing in the quarterfinals. But in Tokyo on Friday, her height was a big factor as she beat former world champions Nien-Chin Chen of Chinese Taipei to enter the semi-finals in the welterweight category and thus assure herself of an Olympic medal. In 2019, she returned with another bronze from the World Championships, held in Ulan-Ude, Russia. Borgohain, the first woman Olympian from Assam, also has two Asian Championships bronze medals to her name, having reached the semifinals of the competition in 2017 and 2021. Lovlina secured her Olympic quota, becoming the first woman from Assam to qualify for the Olympics, by entering the semifinals of the Asia & Oceania Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament in March 2020. She won bronze after losing in the semifinals to 2018 World silver medallist Gu Hong of China.

But in 2012, when she was 14, she was spotted during a scouting run by Padam Boro, the coach who runs the boxing programme at SAI’s Guwahati centre. Boro was short of boxers for the upcoming sub-junior nationals in Kolkata. Lovlina Borgohain has become the second Indian female boxer to win an Olympic bronze after MC Mary Kom achieved that feat in the 2012 London Olympics. She only came to know about it when reporters contacted her for an interview. Her CWG campaign ended in the quarter-final but the Indian was slowly finding her feet at the international stage. “My father always wanted me to go to the Olympics, it’s a dream come true for him.

She will be the second Indian woman and the third Indian boxer overall to win an Olympic medal after Mary Kom at the 2012 London Olympics and Vijender at Beijing 2008. In Tokyo, Borgohain was given a bye to the round of 16, where she defeated Germany’s Nadine Apetz in a closely-fought bout. In the quarterfinals, Borgohain got the better of Chinese Taipei’s Chen Nien-chin before finally coming up short against 2019 World Championships gold medallist Surmeneli in the semis on Wednesday. Boxing great MC Mary Kom had previously won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Games while Vijender Singh had also claimed bronze at the Beijing Games in 2008. A two-time world championship bronze medallist, Lovlina was conferred with Arjuna Award in 2020. She is the first female boxer from Assam to qualify for Olympics.

What inspired Lovlina Borgohain to take up boxing?

Beginning a career in boxing also meant she had to leave her home and stay at SAI hostels, first in Guwahati and then in New Delhi. The fact that she will be returning with a medal from Tokyo means the world for the 2,000-odd residents of Baro Mukhia, Lovlina’s village. She finally sealed her spot at the Olympics in early 2020, when she defeated Uzbekistan’s Maftunakhon Melieva in the quarterfinals of the Asian Olympic qualifiers. During boxing trials at her high school, her skills impressed Padum Boro (a coach from Guwahati), who asked if the talented young girl would like to go to Guwahati to train under the Sports Authority of India. That got her hooked to boxing, but she was first trained in Muay Thai, a form of kickboxing.

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•She had previously won a gold medal in the International Boing Championship held in February 2018 in the welterweight category. Her journey to the bronze in Tokyo was filled with challenges, on both personal and professional fronts. It was her unwavering self-belief that she could trounce any situation or opponent she was pitted against, that kept her going. Soon after qualifying for the Games, the team returned to India, only to see a six-month lockdown being imposed. Even after the equipment was dispatched to her, there was no clarity on the training protocols because of the uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

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• She advanced to the quarterfinals in her debut Olympic appearance, defeating German veteran Nadine Apetz in a closely-fought last-16 stage bout on Tuesday.

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• Lovlina was born to Mamoni and Tiken Borhohain, a small-time businessman.

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• •The olympic debutant had assured India of a medal by defeating world no. 2 Chen Nien-Chin of Chinese Taipei 4-1 in the quarterfinals of women’s welterweight event at Tokyo Olympics 2020.

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• •Lovlina Borgohain has become the first-ever Assamese woman to win an Olympic medal.

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• She asked another girl, who had lost her bout, if she could borrow her kit.
• Borgohain, who is taller and leaner, simply did not allow her to do that.

To make matters worse, she tested positive when the national camp finally resumed training, which resulted in her missing the Italy leg of the training camp. I’ve had to be content with the bronze medal throughout my career. A medal is a medal, whether it is an Olympic medal or an inter-district one,” she said right after the bout.

India’s only other medal at this Olympics came in the form of weightlifter Mirabai Chanu’s silver in the 49kg division. Lovlina Borgohain would take part in Muay Thai, a form of kickboxing with her two sisters. •Lovlina Borgohain has become the first-ever Assamese woman to win an Olympic medal. This is India’s third medal at this year’s Tokyo Olympics 2020 after Mirabai Chanu’s silver in weightlifting and PV Sindhu’s bronze in badminton women’s individual event. The magnitude of her achievement can be gauged by the way she let her emotions overcome her after the win. And the way she has been going in Tokyo, it may not be the last time she celebrates.

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What other sports did Lovlina Borgohain play?

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The win against Apetz boosted her confidence and that was on full display in the dominant win over World No 2 Chen. Her task ahead doesn’t get any easier as she faces the reigning world champion and World No 1 Busenaz Surmeneli in the semi-final, but if you watched Lovlina fight in her quarter-final bout, she seems to fear no one. “I remember how in the village they would often pity my parents, with no sons and three daughters. My mother would always tell us to do something to prove the critics wrong, and we did.