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“Bachpan se mummy sikhaate the ki humme bade hoke kuch karna hai” - Lovlina Borgohain.
The Indian boxer did exactly that and etched her name in India’s Olympic history on Friday. Her shout after she confirmed India's bronze medal had reached a crescendo from the Kokugikan Arena to Assam. Little did she know that a journey inspired by the great Muhammad Ali would meet fate with such glorious pomp.
“Since childhood, everyone used to tell us that girls cannot do anything. But my mother always had my back. She would support me and my sister and tell us that you have to prove them wrong,” she told SAI nostalgically.
Then one fine day, when her father brought some sweets wrapped in a newspaper, it changed everything for Lovlina Borgohain. The newspaper had a picture of the all-time great Muhammad Ali. A curious Lovlina then asked her father about him, who very keenly narrated the story of the boxer.
“He brought us some sweets and it was wrapped in a newspaper. There was something written about Muhammad Ali. So, my father then told me a story about him and that was when I got interested in boxing,” she added.
In Tokyo, the 23-year-old, who also loves Mike Tyson, fought like Ali in the quarterfinal against Chinese Taipei’s Chen Nien-Chien in the women’s welterweight division.
Checkout: The Olympics 2021 Points Table
Ali is known for his lightning-fast punches and unparalleled reflexes. He would always look for counter-attacks but would never drop his guard. Lovlina Borghain channeled the strategy of the legendary boxer on Friday.
She was agile, aggressive, but also defensively sound, and was great at landing punches from a distance – it was like watching Ali compete at the Olympics.
"I did watch some of his videos before going for today's bout," says says
Hailing from Golaghat, district Assam, Lovlina Borgohain had lost four bouts against Chien before this contest. But when she walked into the ring in Tokyo, there was something different about her. She was calm, composed and smiling.
“I have lost four times to Chen till now. I used to think too much. This time I knew how she’d play so I attacked from the very beginning,” Lovlina Borgohain tells Sportskeeda smiling.
But her journey to Tokyo was not an easy one. She tried different sports before picking up the gloves to step in the ring.
Lovlina Borgohain: The Kickboxer
The pugilist comes from a humble background. Her father Tiken Borgohain is a small-scale businessman and had financial struggles to support his daughter's ambition.
Following in the footsteps of her twin sisters Licha and Lima, she first took up kickboxing. She spent three years training Thang-Ta (Manipur’s traditional martial arts), Muay Thai and kickboxing under coach Prashanta Kumar Das.
She became the Assam Muay Thai Champion and won gold at the Nationals in Martial Arts in Guwahati in 2010. She also won silver at the Thang-Ta nationals in Jharkhand the same year.
Lovlina Borgohain was different, says Prashanta Kumar Das, as she had the hunger to learn and natural talent for combat sports.
“She was a natural. Lovlina had fear of getting hurt but she always wanted to learn new moves. She had the willpower to overcome the challenges,” Das recalls.
Lovlina Borgohain: The Boxer
But life had something else for the budding martial artist. A visit by coach Padam Boro to Sarupathar Girls School changed her life forever. Boro was a Sports Authority of India (SAI) coach in Guwahati and introduced Lovlina Borgohain to boxing in 2012.
Check Out: Tokyo Olympics 2021 Schedule
The same year, she became the national champion in the 70kg category at the sub-junior level in Kolkata. She was selected for the national camp in Bhopal, where she continued to grow as a boxer.
Over the next three years, Lovlina Borgohain went on to win four international medals, including silver in the Nations Cup in Serbia. Owing to her brilliant performance at the age-group level, she made her way to the national camp in the 76 kg weight category in 2016.
In 2017, she won bronze at the Asian Championships in Vietnam followed by her maiden world championship medal in New Delhi in 2018.
Lovlina knew what she needed to become a champion, says her father, and the sacrifices needed to create history.
“Despite our financial conditions, Lovlina never complained to us. She knew what she wanted and worked hard for it,” Tiken said.
Lovlina Borgohain: Road to Tokyo Olympics
Lovlina Borgohain had an uphill journey to realize the Olympic dream. After bagging the Olympic quota in the Asian Qualifiers in Jordan, she had to spend the following months at home due to the lockdown.
Then after she was bestowed with Arjuna Award, she decided to visit her village to be with her ailing mother and tested COVID-19 positive upon return to Patiala. Instead of breaking Lovlina down, all these experiences only made her stronger.
As Muhammad Ali used to say, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,” Lovlina Borgohain, feels her Olympics is still not over. She now has eyes on Olympic gold and believes the next match against world champion Busanez Surmaneli of Turkey will be even better.
"Everyone can forget the national medal but no one can forget the Olympic medal. I want the gold! A bronze won’t do. Now that I’ve secured a medal, I can play more freely and hope the next fight is even better.”
