Two-time world bronze-winner and second seed Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) has secured an Olympic berth on Sunday. The boxer from Assam has now advanced to the semifinals of the Asian Qualifiers by defeating Uzbekistan's Maftunakhon Melieva. At Amman in Jordan, she qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. “Hello India, I am very happy that I will be representing my country at the Tokyo Olympics… Happy that today I could play the way my coaches wanted me to. I am thankful to everyone for the support. My aim here is to win a gold for my country and not just qualify for the Olympics,” Lovlina said after her win in a &feature=emb_logo">video message.
Praising Lovlina for the win, the official Twitter handle of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) wrote, “No 2 seed & reigning world championship bronze medalist, @LovlinaBorgohai will go to Tokyo for her first-ever #Olympic Games, outpunched Uzbek boxer with a unanimous verdict to secure a semi-final spot in the 69kg category.”
Key Takeaways:
- Assam boxer Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) has qualified for Tokyo Olympics by advancing into the semifinals of the continental qualifiers at Amman in Jordan.
- Two-time world bronze-winner and second seed Lovlina eased past Uzbekistan’s Maftunakhon Melieva to enter the semifinals and secure an Olympic berth.
- This will be 22-year-old Assam girl’s maiden Olympic spot.
"The dream of winning an Olympic gold inspires me every day. Even though the injury brings me down sometimes, I am excited to get back to full fitness for the qualifying events," the 22-year-old Assam girl had confessed SheThePeople.TV in an interview. This will be Lovlina's maiden Olympic spot.
READ:What Makes Mary Kom’s Life So Inspirational, Every Single Day
She has played two world championships so far and won two bronze medals and has a silver medal in the Asian Championship. The young boxer said, "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."
"It taught me that I am not lost when opponent defeats me, I am only lost when I refuse to get up and fight back."
The Assam boxer also won gold at Magomed Salam Umakhanov Memorial International Tournament 2019 in Russia and the 2018 India Open in New Delhi. Last month, she was ranked third in the world ranking of boxing by the International Olympic Committee’s Boxing Task Force in the 69kg weight category.
Talking about the legacies of Mary Kom, Lovlina said, "I follow the footsteps of legends like Mary Kom and Sarita Devi, who single-handedly waved India’s flag at world stage for many years. And now as their guidance and utmost support from our National Boxing Federation lead us, and many youngsters in the country, I like to think about their achievements before putting the gloves on."
While she is still struggling with a leg injury, the champion boxer is raring to go and compete out with the best in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
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