Guwahati: The Assam Amateur Boxing Association (AABA) on Tuesday (August 13) organised a meet and greet session with reigning world champion and two-time Olympian Lovlina Borgohain to hear about her experiences at the recently-concluded Paris Olympics.
Competing at the women’s 75kg middleweight category, Lovlina, a bronze medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, reached the quarterfinals in her second appearance at the Summer Games in Paris before eventually going down fighting against Li Qian of China, as per a press statement.
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Speaking about her experiences, Lovlina said, “I went to Paris with a billion hopes on my shoulders but unfortunately I couldn’t come back with a medal. I will forever be indebted for the love and support that the people of Assam showed despite my performance in Paris,” she said.
The 26-year-old said she wanted to carry forward the momentum from Tokyo, but unfortunately things didn’t go her way in Paris. She also assured to come back hard after returning from a much-needed breather in her future competitions, it said.
“I will continue to work hard and improve on my performances when I return to the ring in the next competitions. This is not the end of the world, there will be opportunities coming up, but the goal is also to create an environment where we can create many more Lovlinas in the coming days,” Lovlina added.
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The occasion was graced by Boxing Federation of India (BFI) Secretary General and AABA Secretary Hemanta Kumar Kalita, AABA President Kamal Goyary, East Guwahati MLA Siddhartha Bhattacharya, Secretary to Assam Sports & Youth Welfare Department Kausar Hilaly, and Assam Director Sports & Youth Welfare Department Prodip Timung, it added.
Speaking on the occasion, BFI Secretary General and AABA Secretary Hemanta Kumar Kalita said, “We are always grateful to Lovlina for taking Assam and India to the global boxing map. She has already made us proud with her achievements all these years, one odd day won’t take away all those she has achieved for us.”
Besides Lovlina, Pranamika Borah was part of the Indian boxing contingent in Paris as a member of the support staff. Borah, a former boxer with multiple medals at national and international events accompanied the team as a coach. Borah was also felicitated during the event, it said.
Hailing the contribution of Borah, AABA secretary Kalita said that it was a proud moment for the state to have her in the boxing contingent’s support staff.
“We are equally proud of Pranamika and her contribution to the sport. She might be the first Assamese coach to be part of an Olympic contingent,” Kalita said
“She has been with the national team for over a decade now, and we expect her to continue in the same vein, supporting our upcoming boxers, and also help the federation in unearthing new talents,” Kalita added.
In his address, Secretary to Assam Sports & Youth Welfare Department Hilaly, termed Lovlina as a “champion of champions” and credited the pugilist for motivating youngsters to take up the sport, it further said.