'Don't want to stop at bronze; will go for gold': Lovlina Borgohain

Lovlina Borgohain's win in the quarterfinal bout against a more fancied Chen Nien-Chin of Chinese Taipei has not only ensured India another medal at the Olympics but also ensured that the tradition started by M.C. Mary Kom continues and the baton is well and truly passed on to a deserving generation.

The pugilist from Assam was only 15 when Mary Kom became the first Indian woman boxer to win an Olympic medal at the 2012 London Olympics. But the road to such stardom has been littered with many challenges—like facing disapproval from society and having her own moments of self-doubt, her mother's kidney surgery last year, and recovery from a bout of COVID-19.

But today was a day to celebrate, though the job is only half done. The 24-year-old is in the semifinals of the welterweight category (64-69 kg), but it was by no means an easy match, given that the Indian boxer was going into the game with a 0-4 win-loss record against the former world champion. "I had lost four times to her (Chen Nien-Chin) and for me, personally, it was a big challenge to prove to myself that I could beat her. It wasn't about proving to others. There was no special strategy - if I had one, the opponent could latch on to it. I decided to get into the ring and handle the situation there itself. I enjoyed the bout; I played freely," she said in an interaction with the media organised by the Boxing Federation of India.

National coach Mohammed Ali Qamar was happy with the way Lovlina executed her plan in the ring against her opponent. "It was a very good performance. She knew everything about her opponent but she said I will make my strategy according to the situation. She put pressure on her opponent and played on the counter, which really worked well for her. She punched clearly."

On how two girls from the northeast had made India proud at the Olympics, Lovlina from Golaghat, Assam, laughed and said, "I am not thinking so much right now. I don't want to stop at bronze; I will go for gold. Before going into the bout, I thought what people had said for the last eight years, I must prove them wrong."

Asked how she had graduated into this fearless boxer, the 2018 and 2019 World Championship bronze medallist said, "I wasn't like this earlier. I would play with fear in some initial competitions, especially before getting into the ring. Ever since I started believing in myself, I stopped bothering about others, what they said. I became fearless."

A self-confessed Muhammed Ali fan, Lovlina, who started as a kickboxer before being identified for boxing by local coaches, talked of how she has watched the late legend's videos in the past and got inspired. "Though all boxers are different, I do follow a few things like his footwork, punch and long punch."

Although assured of a bronze, her eyes are set on bigger targets. She will next play Turkey's Busenaz Surmeneli in the semifinal match on August 4. Speaking about that encounter, Indian women boxers' high performance director Raffaele Bergamasco admitted that the fight would be tough. "She (Lovlina) will be fighting this girl (Surmeneli) for the first time. She is a strong girl, and world champion in the last competition in Russia. We will look at the videos and work out a new strategy. It will be a tough match but not impossible."

BFI president Ajay Singh, who is also in Tokyo, said, "I just want to say that she should continue to play the way she did today. Don't feel pressured by the weight of expectations of 1.3 billion people. We want to see her on the podium with the gold. Just play fearlessly."