The villagers used to say- what kind of a father is he, he gets his daughter beaten up: When Lovlina won, she celebrated the festival, father said- there was no money, she boxed on an empty stomach

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Lovlina’s father Tiken Borgohain has been a witness and companion of her difficult journey. There was a time when Tiken used to work in a private job and could earn only 4 thousand rupees by working for the whole month. He lived with his wife and three daughters in Baromukhia village of Golaghat district of Assam.

The condition of the house was such that there was no money even for Lovlina’s diet. She would do boxing with a normal diet and would also win medals.

In the photo, Lovlina is with her mother and father Tiken. According to Tiken, it was Lovlina’s mother who was behind her becoming a boxer. She wanted her daughter to learn some martial art for self-defense.

On Wednesday, July 31, Lovlina will play in the Round of 16 in the middle weight category at the Paris Olympics. She is facing junior world champion Sunniva Hofstad of Norway. Lovlina won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She is a contender this time too. If she wins the medal, she will be the first Indian boxer to win two Olympic medals. Read the ground report from Lovlina’s house…

I saw Muhammad Ali’s photo in the paper and decided to become a boxer like him
Talking about Lovlina’s journey, Tiken says, ‘In 2019, Lovlina won gold in the National Games. Then I told her that now you have to win the Olympics. This is difficult, so remember Muhammad Ali before every match and become like him.

Why only Mohammad Ali? Tiken replies, ‘Lovlina’s journey started with Mohammad Ali. Once she saw Mohammad Ali’s photo in the paper. Read his story. It was fixed in her mind that she has to become like Mohammad Ali. Not only is Lovlina’s defense strong, she also throws strong punches and jabs. Mohammad Ali was also known for his footwork and punches.

Started boxing at the age of 14, won the Junior National Championship the same year
Lovlina’s two elder sisters Licha and Lima used to play Muay Thai. This is a form of kick boxing. Seeing her sisters, Lovlina also started practicing Muay Thai from an early age. In 2012, at the age of 14, she started training in boxing. For this, she left the village and came to Guwahati, about 300 km away. She was then in 9th class.

Lovlina’s father Tiken says, ‘She was selected, but we did not have money to send her to Guwahati. I got a call during the day saying that you have to reach Guwahati by the next morning. I arranged money from here and there.’

‘Lovlina and I left for Guwahati by train at night. We had general tickets. There were no seats in the train, so we travelled the entire journey sitting on the floor. Lovlina won the Junior National Championship in 2012 itself. The next year, she won a silver medal in the National Women’s Junior Cup in Serbia in 2013.’

‘In 2015 also, a junior boxing team camp was organized at SAI’s Bhopal centre. Lovlina went to participate in it. When she lived in Bhopal, it cost 10 thousand rupees for expenses. We did not even have that much money.’

‘There was a lot of shortage of money. She needed money for her diet. We used to borrow money and send it to her. Many times there was no money for her diet. Lovlina played and won many tournaments even on a normal diet.’

Lovlina was awarded the Arjuna Award in 2020. She was the sixth player from Assam to receive this award.

Went to Bhopal for training, got lost on the way
Lovlina’s boxing career started from the camp of Sports Authority of India, i.e. SAI. SAI had conducted boxing trials in the school. It was here that a coach named Padum Boro noticed Lovlina. Padum Boro had gone to Golaghat in search of new talent under a project of SAI.

In an interview given to Olympics.com, Padum Boro said, ‘I took tests of Lovlina’s punching bag, fast punching etc. Seeing her performance, I felt that she could be made a boxer.’

‘After this, she was called to Bhopal for training. She went to Bhopal for the first time at the age of 14. While returning to Guwahati, Lovlina got lost at Howrah station. Her train also left. CRPF jawans interrogated her when they saw her alone and put her on a train going to Guwahati.’

Lovlina won the bronze medal in the 69 kg weight category at the Tokyo Olympics. She is the third Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal after Mary Kom and Vijender Singh.

She went in front of the coach for the first time, had not done boxing till then
Padum Boro was Lovlina’s first coach. Padum Boro is among the people Lovlina called first after qualifying for the Paris Olympics. We met him when he was present as a judge in a local boxing tournament in Udalguri district of Assam.

Padum Boro says, ‘Lovlina used to play kick boxing earlier. After she was selected in Golaghat, she came to Guwahati to learn boxing. Since then she has been training in Guwahati. Lovlina had not played boxing before she came to me. In Guwahati, she started from the basics. Within a few days, she started winning medals.’

Padum Boro says, ‘Until Lovlina won a medal, many families did not support women in boxing. After she won a medal in the Olympics, women are also coming forward in this sport.

Girls are learning boxing after seeing Lovlina
Lovlina’s photo is also displayed in the tournament going on in Udalguri. 15-year-old Ramai Kechan, who was met here, says, “I want to become the next Lovlina of Assam. I have full support from my family too.”

Tiken Borgohain says, ‘Now good facilities have started being available for boxing in Assam. 10 years ago there were very few arrangements in the state. After Lovlina started winning tournaments, things started getting better. The government also started supporting boxing more.’

‘Earlier Lovlina used to stay in a hostel. There were no facilities there then. Now the hostel has all the facilities. The government is supporting the players. Lovlina also gets a scholarship from the government.’

If she wins a medal in Paris, she will leave Mary Kom behind
Lovlina Borgohain won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. She is the third Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal after Vijender Singh and Mary Kom. She is participating in the 75 kg weight category.

After winning bronze in Tokyo, Lovlina was not able to do anything special in the ring. It seemed as if her career was about to end. She was a contender for gold in the Commonwealth Games, but she lost in the quarter-finals. Forget about gold, she could not even win bronze. After this, she made a comeback and became the world champion by defeating the Australian boxer.

Lovlina is once again in the Olympics. Her biggest challenge could be two-time Olympic medalist Chinese boxer Li Qian. Lovlina has been seeded eighth, while Li Qian is ranked number one. Lovlina has a chance of facing Li Qian in the quarter-finals.

Li Qian defeated Lovlina in the final of the Asian Games in 2023. In the semi-finals of the 2023 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship held in Delhi this year, Lovlina defeated Li Qian 4-1.