Lovlina Borgohain eyes Olympic gold before turning professional

Lovlina Borgohain during the Tokyo Olympics semifinal
Lovlina Borgohain during the Tokyo Olympics semifinal

Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain, who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, has set her sights on a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Summer Games before turning professional.

Borgohain had to settle for a bronze after losing to Turkey's Busenaz Surmeneli in their 69kg semifinal bout.

"I think I lost that bout because of my lack of training. Due to Covid and my personal injuries I could not train to the maximum. You always prepare differently for the Olympics, but I think I could not do that. If I had been in continuous training I would have defeated her," Borgohain told Olympics.com.

Borgohain has set her sights on Paris 2024.

"I like professional boxing a lot. I had thought that if I win gold in Tokyo I will shift to professional boxing. But I stopped at bronze. So in Paris, the target is gold. After that, I can join professional boxing," she added.

The new year will see her participate in three major events - the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Games and the World Championships.

"My ultimate target is to win gold in Paris. So the big tournaments next year will provide me with a platform to test my preparations for Paris 2024. I will be up against the best so it will give me a good reality check. You can also try out a few different things in these competitions. But in the Olympics, you have to win and you just stick to the winning formula," she stated.

Lovlina Borgohain admires Floyd Mayweather

Borgohain is in awe of legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather.

"He doesn't have a fixed style. He is a different boxer in every bout and has a game plan for every boxer. I also like to have different styles. I track a variety of styles and I want to inculcate them in my game. I try to learn that from him. But at the same time, I have to keep in mind that I cannot copy him blindly because he is built differently," she said.

Also read: India at Olympics 2021 boxing roundup: Lovlina Borgohain's bronze the only cheer amidst a disappointing outing

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Edited by Sanjay Rajan