The International Olympic Committee’s Boxing Task Force on Tuesday approved a freshly designed vest for Lovlina Borgohain.
Lovlina’s name and that of her country will be proudly emblazoned on the back of her newly designed vest, when she will step into the ring on Wednesday, HT reported.
As per reports, Lovlina and MC Mary Kom were asked to change their vests minutes before their bouts because the kit did not comply with the rules.
Though Lovlina is assured of bronze, victory will make her the first Indian boxer to reach the final.
Lovlina fought her quarterfinal bout wearing a plain vest after officials refused to allow anything other than the abbreviation of the country and the boxer’s surname or given name printed on it.
Kom was also forced to change her vest minutes before her second-round loss because her full name was printed on the one she was wearing.
The new vest has ‘IND’ and ‘Borgohain’ printed on the back, as per regulation.
‘It was not clearly spelt out in the official communication about the name needed on the back, so there was confusion. They allowed those who didn’t have two names. But now things have been sorted out,’ HT quoted Indian boxing’s high-performance director, Santiago Nieva, as saying.
The Indian support staff claimed the original kit was approved, and the changes required were not mentioned.
Be that as it may, the fresh kit ordered by the Boxing Federation of India for Lovlina reached on Tuesday.
She was happy to wear her new training vest which has dashes of orange, green, yellow, white and blue.
The 23-year-old is on a high after beating a former world champion in her previous bout.
She is the lone Indian boxer among nine-five men and four women — to have entered the semis.