With fingers crossed, people from all walks of the state have pinned hope on pugilist Lovlina Borgohain as she is just two matches away from winning a medal in the Tokyo Olympics after getting a bye into the pre-quarterfinals.
She will face Germany’s Nadine Apetz in her opening clash in the pre-quarterfinal on Tuesday. She is the second sportsperson from the state to reach pre-quarterfinals after badminton player Dipankar Bhattacharjee, who is the first Olympian from the state, in 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Lovlina, who is the first woman from the state to qualify for the Olympics and the second boxer from the state to represent the country after Shiva Thapa, was supposed to step into the ring in the first round on Saturday.
Along with others, 2000-odd dwellers of Baro Mukhia, Lovlina’s native village under Sarupathar legislative constituency in upper Assam’s Golaghat district (about 320 km east of Guwahati) are eagerly waiting to witness the moment when Lovlina will step into the boxing ring at Tokyo’s Kokugikan Arena (the boxing venue for Olympics 2020) on Tuesday and moves one step closer to secure a medal.
Ahead of her debut boxing match in Olympics, Dhansiri sub-division unit of All Assam Students’ Union (Aasu) on Thursday initiated wall painting drives in various places in Golaghat district to support and encourage the 23-year-old boxer.
Meanwhile, Swapan Chakrabarty, a local of the village, said, “It is a very proud moment for us that she will play in the Tokyo Olympics going from this remote village. There is no sports infrastructure and boxing rings here, but her dedication and hard work has brought her to the world stage. We hope that she will win the Olympic gold medal and bring laurels to India as well as to the state.”
The two-time world championship medalist would be the first from the state to win a medal in Olympics if she clears the road by punching hard in the next two matches.
Also read: 40 Children Rescued by Assam Police in a Major Child Trafficking Breakthrough
Prayers have been offered at the temples and satras (Vaishnavite monasteries), wall paintings have been made in several parts of the state and rallies have been organized to encourage Lovlina.
The state government on Wednesday flagged off a goodwill campaign named “Go for Glory, Lovlina” in Guwahati to motivate and support her.
World championship medal winner and Lovlina’s fellow boxer from Assam’s Dhekiajuli Jamuna Boro said, “She (Lovlina) is very hard working. It is a proud moment that she qualified to the Olympics to represent the country and also got a bye into the pre-quarterfinals. I am sure she will definitely clinch gold by showing her skills in the ring. We are excited and waiting to celebrate the moment when she will clinch the gold. I would like to wish her well at this moment.”
Meanwhile, Satish K Sarhadi, director of SAI, Guwahati, said that Lovlina, who is focused and clear about what to do, is definitely going to clinch a medal in the Olympics as she is just two steps away.
He said Lovlina, who was spotted as a boxer by Indian boxing coach Padum Boro in 2012 during a visit to her village in search of young talent, is very skilled in technique.
It is pertinent to mention that Lovlina underwent training at the SAI, Guwahati for a long time as the sub-centre in her home district Golaghat does not have sufficient facilities.
She has made it to the grand stage of sports while prominent sports persons – international boxer Shiva Thapa and sprinter Hima Das missed the flight.
Before her, boxer Shiva Thapa and archer Jayanta Talukdar participated in the 2012 London Olympics while Dipankar Bhattacharjee participated in the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Thapa, who qualified to the event by defeating Syria’s Wessam Salamana in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers held in Astana in Kazakhstan in 2012, lost in the first round of the London Olympics to Mexico’s Oscar Valdez Fierro in the Bantamweight category.
On the other hand, Arjuna awardee archer Jayanta Talukdar lost to Jacob Wukie in the first round of the individual event in the London Olympics.
He was among the eight shortlisted archers, who competed in the trials to select the Indian archery team for the Tokyo Olympics, in March. He didn’t make the cut.