Meet Lovlina Borgohain, Assamese Boxer Brings Home Olympics Bronze For India

Who is Lovlina Borgohain? The 23-year-old, who was the first woman pugilist from Assam to qualify for the Olympics, has now secured a bronze medal for India in the Women's 69kg Welterweight category of the event. At 2020 Tokyo Olympics Borgohain made it to a podium finish after losing the semi-final match to world champion Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey, on August 4.

She finished third place at the Asia and Oceania Boxing Olympics qualifiers, defeating Maftunakhon Melieva of Uzbekistan in April this year.

Borgohain's achievement was acknowledged Thursday by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswas who congratulated her, saying, "A matter of great joy and pride for us as @LovlinaBorgohai becomes the first woman pugilist from Assam to qualify for the #Olympics." 

"Thank you @himantabiswa sir for all the support and motivation. I will work hard and perform at my best in Olympics," she wrote back to him.

A matter of great joy and pride for us as @LovlinaBorgohai becomes the first woman pugilist from Assam to qualify for the #Olympics.

My heartiest Congratulations to you Lovlina. You have our finest wishes for the big moment.

May you continue to shine and succeed. pic.twitter.com/DVqP5EbaI2

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) June 10, 2021

All You Need To Know About Who Is Lovlina Borgohain, Her Wins And Feats

Two years ago, in an interview with SheThePeople, Borgohain spoke of her early beginnings and the way forward. "I come from a lower-middle-class family, that belongs to Assam’s Golaghat. From an early age, my twin sisters and I were taught to be strong in order to pursue our dreams or to be successful in life. My mother is a very strong woman and despite having a poor economic condition she never let us suffer in any situation. My sisters are well-trained in martial arts and seeing them I also got interested in doing so."

In 2018, Borgohain came to the international spotlight with her participation in the Commonwealth Games. Her bronze world titles came at the 2018 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championship in New Delhi and 2019 Women's World Boxing Championships in Russia.

"I will not rest until I win an Olympic gold. No matter what the universe has planned for me, the fact that I still am strong after the injury gives me hope to do much better and greater," she told us in 2019 after sustaining an injury.

Borgohain is a young player but has already made space for herself on the world stage alongside greats like Mary Kom. The two are currently training at the Army Sports Institute (ASI) in Pune and will continue till July, the month Olympics begin.