The Calm and Composed Boxer Defying Odds- Lovlina Borgohain
India was elated when Lovlina Borgohain, dominant from the first go, packed a punch and assured India a bronze medal by defeating Nien-Chin Chen in her boxing welterweight quarterfinal bout. She faced the reigning world no. 2 Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey at the end of her race at the Olympics and performed with great spirits. She became the third Indian boxer to finish on the podium and the first Assamese woman to play at the Olympics.
Lovlina was born on 2nd October 1997 and hails from Golaghat district of Assam. When she was a child, her father brought her a paper cutting featuring an article on the legendary Muhammad Ali which drew Lovlina’s interest in the sport.
As a child, Lovlina followed the footsteps of her elder sisters and began with kickboxing but later shifted to boxing full-time. Her talent was discovered by a renowned coach Padum Boro when the Sports Authority of India held trails at her school. Lovlina comes from a humble background and her father struggled financially to support her dreams.
It was in 2014 that Lovlina began making a name for herself at a global platform. She won a bronze at the Junior Woman World Golden Glove of Vojvodina Boxing Tournament in Serbia in 2017. She rose to fame by winning a bronze at the 2017 Asian Championship held in Vietnam. Lovlina has won two bronzes at the World Championships, one in the year 2018 and the other in 2019.
A disappointing loss at the 2018 Commonwealth Games became her teacher compelling her to retrospect and focus on strengthening her mind. She even began with meditation to channel her counter-attacking technique.
The 2019 World Championship medal and clinching to the spot of World no. 3 then, was no less but a reward to her perseverance. All of these helped her inch towards her Olympics dream. Even at the Olympics, this young girl scripted history encouraging youngsters to chase dreams fearlessly and unapologetically.
Lovlina’s parents were thrilled with joy and tears when they came across Lovlina’s feat. This fighter returning home with an Olympic medal means the world to not only her parents but people back in her village- Baro Mukhia. Lovlina’s parents were pities for having three daughters and not a single male child.
Her mother believed that the Borgohain girls would respond to the critics by carving a fruitful career path for themselves. While Lovlina scripted history, her sisters are working with the Central Industrial Security Force and Border Security Force. This is what we call women empowerment.
As a boxer, Lovlina likes to keep it cool. She is usually seen to be calm and composed. The scream at the end of her quarterfinal win was a moment where we saw this 23-year-old girl showcase her emotions as being a restrained fighter inside and outside the ring.
We are proud that Lovlina fought all the odds and reached where she is now. She has a long way to go and we are confident that she’ll bring much more to our plate. One of the brightest stars in the Indian sporting world- Lovlina Borgohain.
Written by
Tista Nautiyal
Team IISM
