Summer of 2012 - When India identified the boxer in Lovlina Borgohain

In June 2012, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) regional director Subhash Basumatary sent a team including boxing coach Padum Boro to Sarupathar district Golaghat to scout talent for its boxing academy in Guwahati, Assam. Lovlina Borgohain was one of seven young girls that were selected during the annual exercise to spot talent for the academy.

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It was a turning point for Lovlina. The SAI regional director, who retired in January 2021, recalled his first meeting with a young, aspiring Lovlina.

“Firstly, Lovlina was selected because of her height. She also had a background in martial arts, which was the second reason her name was recommended to the SAI headquarters in New Delhi for approval.”

Subhash also spoke about how Lovlina was inspired by the success of another athlete from Assam - Shiva Thapa. Thapa was the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympics when he took part in the 2012 London Games.

According to Padum, SAI boxing coach, Lovlina submitted certificates of merit she had received in Muay Thai and kickboxing competitions during the selection trials in Sarupathar.

“She was tall and impressive in drills. She could anticipate it well. So we recommended her name for the SAI boxing academy,” said Padum.

Padum went on to add that Lovlina's transformation from a good Muay Thai player, a martial art popular in the North East region, to learning the art of boxing didn’t take long.

“After joining the SAI training center in Guwahati, Lovlina's entire focus shifted to learning the craft of boxing. Having a rural background, she could adapt to hard work faster, and she made good progress within a year,” added SAI boxing coach.

How Lovlina's training inspired her to gun for more glory

In 2013, the young boxer from Assam made inroads into the youth national camp.

“She was a raw boxer. We focused on improving her basic fundamentals. Since she was highly disciplined. We noticed rapid improvement in her skills,” recalled Sandhya Gurung, coach of the women’s national camp.

Sandhya, who has been associated with women’s national boxing camp since 2010, said it was initially tough for Lovlina to cement her place in the camp but with sheer hard work she impressed the selection panel.

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Being in the youth development group, Lovlina got a chance to compete in an international competition in 2014 held in Serbia. It was Lovlina’s first international outing.

“Being in the national youth development group and winning a bronze medal in her respective category in her first international competition was a big achievement,” said Subhash.

The retired SAI official said that Serbia’s bronze medal winning feat further fueled her passion for excelling at world level.

The Assam boxer graduated to senior level in 2016. She continued to stamp her authority on the bigger stage by winning bronze medals at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships.

Lovlina’s two back-to-back solid performances at world level made her a strong contender for a podium finish at the Olympic Games.

“When she won a quota place in March 2020 to compete at the Tokyo Olympics Games we had a feeling that she will stamp her authority in Japan,” said Subhash.

On Friday, Lovlina entered the semi-finals of the women's 69kg weight category at the Tokyo Olympic Games. It assured India of a medal in women's boxing.

Subhash hopes Lovlina will be able to enter the gold medal round.

"She has won two bronze medals in the world championships. We hope she reaches the gold medal round in the Olympics."