On a rather disappointing day for the Indian contingent, Lovlina Borgohain was the only shining light at the Tokyo Olympics. Lovlina, the first woman boxer from Assam to qualify for an edition of the Olympic Games, stormed into the quarter-finals of the welterweight category with a commanding victory over Nadine Apetz from Germany.
Lovlina Borgohain triumphed over Nadine Apetz owing to a split decision over the latter, and booked a place in the quarter finals. This means one more win, and she secures a medal for India. All semi-finalists are assured of a bronze medal at the very least, at the Olympics.
It was a scintillating display of counter-punches from Lovlina that fetched her the win against the senior German pugilist. Despite a slow start, Lovlina soon found her footing and unleashed a barrage of well-timed right jabs at Apetz.
The first round turned out to be a close affair, but fortunately for Lovlina all three judges gave their rulings in her favour. After that Lovlina put in a dominant performance in the second round. Refraining from being overly aggressive, she kept on throwing counter-punches at regular intervals, while steering clear of Apetz’s jabs.
Finally, Apetz started off in the third round under massive pressure to try and turn the game around. An astute Lovlina, brought out her tactical best, getting Apetz frustrated and achieving the victory. Lovlina will meet 4th seeded Chen Nien-Chin, a former world champion on 30th July in the quarter final.
Lovlina Borgohain achieved her Olympic qualification last year and also became the winner of the Arjuna award within a few months. Since her inception in Boxing, winning an Olympic medal for India has always been her goal. Back in 2015, the 23-year-old pugilist also got a tattoo of the Olympic rings, on the left wrist to keep reminding herself of that goal.
Licha, one of the elder sisters of Lovlina who inspired her to take up Boxing showered her little sister with the best of wishes. She said, “We hope that my beloved sister will win in Olympics and we offer our prayers to God for her success.”
