Tokyo: Lovlina Borgohain from Sarupathar of Assam made her way through the women’s boxing quarterfinal in Tokyo Olympic by defeating NC Chen of China 4-1 in the welter-weight category. With this victory, Lovlina became the third boxer from India to ever win an Olympic medal after Vijender Singh in 2008 and Mary Kom in 2012.
In the first round of the quarter-final, it was difficult to decide who was dominating the ring but the decision went slightly in favour of Lovlina. However, in the second round, she won a large margin of 5-0. She emerged victorious in the quarter final by 4-1 against her opponent NC Chen.
Watch how the people from Lovlina's hometown, Sarupathar, celebrated her victory:
Lovlina’s victory did not only make India proud but brought a wave of celebration in her state, Assam.
MLA Biswajit Phukon of Sarupathar expressed his happiness and best wishes by congratulating her. “The success of Lovlina has made us all proud. For the people of Sarupathar and Assam, it is a moment of great pride,” he said.
He further wished her to secure a gold medal and said that the unstoppable zeal shown by Lovlina has taken her one step closer to being one of the best sports persons of the world.
He also added that he will establish a national level sports committee in Sarupathar for paying respect to Lovlina and requested the Chief Minster for the same.
On asking her father if he expected her to be the first woman from Assam to secure a medal in the Olympics, he said that Lovlina still has to excel in the final and semifinal. “With the entire nation, even I hope that she secures a gold medal,” he said.
Her coach, Prasant Kumar Das also conveyed his best wishes. He said “Lovlina has excelled in the quarter-finals against her Chinese opponent NC Chen and she will definitely excel and win the semifinal as well.” He also added that Lovlina should not be worried about the outcomes and should just concentrate on performing at her best.
Furthermore, he said “Lovlina is an inspiration for the youth of this generation and she has proved that anything can be achieved with the right determination.”
The importance of her victory can easily be noted with the amount of celebration that followed. Large number of people from Sarupathar had gathered around the television to see her match. Her victory was then celebrated with crackers, dancing and slogans.
The 23-year-old boxer could also be seen practising in the middle of a paddy field and her victory in the semifinal will make her the first Indian boxer in an Olympic final.