Lovlina Borgohain Loses the Semis, But Bags Another Medal For India At the Tokyo Olympics

The Indian boxer bowed out of the semi-finals after a 5-0 defeat against Turkey's Busenaz Surmeneli.

04 August, 2021

Lovlina Borgohain Loses the Semis, But Bags Another Medal For India At the Tokyo Olympics

The 23-year-old Indian boxer—who participated in the Women's Welterweight Boxing event (64-69 kg) category—settled for the bronze medal at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, after losing to reigning world champion Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey in the semi-final match. Lovlina Borgohain lost 0-5 to the Turkish boxer, along with a one-point deduction in the second round for not paying attention to the referee's instructions. In the third round, Borgohain faced two standing eight counts during the bout.

With a bronze, Lovlina becomes only the third Indian boxer after Vijender Singh (2008) and Mary Kom (2012) to win an Olympic medal. In the quarterfinal match, Lovlina outboxed Chinese Taipei's Nien-Chin Chen with a 4-1 win and made her way to the semis. Take a look at her semi-final bout against Busenaz Surmeneli:

Post the gruelling match, several Indian sportspersons took to social media to congratulate the first-time Olympic medal winner from Assam.

"One more story to inspire a nation. One more girl making India proud. @LovlinaBorgohai has got the #Bronze More power to your punches," said Former India cricketer Akash Chopra. The London Olympics bronze medallist boxer Vijender Singh also wished Borgohain, and said, "And it’s bronze in boxing Fisted handFlag of India proud of you #LovlinaBorgohain."

Sushma Verma, India woman cricketer, said, "Well fought Champ!! Boxing glove. Congratulations for the Bronze @LovlinaBorgohai you have inspired many. Upward and onwards." Ritu Phogat, an Indian mixed martial artist, also took to Twitter to congratulate the Indian boxer post the event. She said, "Proud of you sister, India's first boxing medal comes from queen @LovlinaBorgohai #girlpower #Olympics #India #Cheer4India #jaihind."