Olympic medallist boxer Lovlina Borgohain begins life after Tokyo

Kolkata: Lovlina Borgohain became a sensation when she gave India their only medal in boxing in Tokyo Olympics with a bronze in 70kg class, but life has changed for her in the last eight to nine months. The 24-year-old from Assam has already become of the sports icons from North East, but she now plans to look ahead and strike gold in the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships which got underway in Istanbul on Monday.

“It was my first International bout after the Olympics. After learning so much at the Olympics thanks to my trainers and the support system, I had worked very hard on my game and today, I wanted to gauge my progress. It was a tough bout but with the support of everyone, I could do well. I will keep trying to do well in the coming matches and win gold for India,” Lovlina told the Boxing Federation of India media after the bout.

The Olympics medal had certainly played it’s part in allowing her to focus on bigger goals when earlier this year, she was appointed as the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Assam Police. “It feels good to have a confirmed job. Now I can serve the country while working in Assam Police but my main focus is sports and winning the medal. I will focus on training and won’t join the duty until retired from boxing,” Lovlina said on receiving the appointment letter from Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Dispur.

The bigger picture for India’s medallists in Tokyo, along with hundreds of other athletes, suffered a slight jolt with the postponement of Asian Games scheduled in Hangzhou, China in September due to a surge in Covid cases.