Tokyo Olympics: How Lovlina Borgohain overcame patriarchy, financial duress, sexual taunts to win Olympic medal

Lovlina Borgohain, who won a bronze medal for India at the Tokyo Olympics, dedicated it to her parents. Lovlina says people use to make fun of her parents because they have three daughters.

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Tokyo Olympics: How Lovlina Borgohain overcame patriarchy, financial duress, sexual taunts to win Olympic medal
Busenaz Surmeneli, of Turkey, connects with a left hand to the face of India's Lovlina Borgohain during their semi-fianl bout (Courtesy: AP)

In Short

  • India's Lovlina Borgohain won a boxing bronze medal on her Olympics debut
  • Lovlina became only third Indian boxer to ensure a podium finish at the Olympics
  • Lovlina lost to reigning world champion Busenaz Surmeneli

Lovlina Borgohain became only the third Indian boxer to win a medal at the showpiece, after Vijender Singh (2008) and MC Mary Kom (2012).

Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) signed off with a bronze medal in her debut Olympic Games after a comprehensive 0-5 loss to reigning world champion Busenaz Surmeneli on Wednesday, bringing an end to the country’s campaign in the sport.

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“I dedicate this medal to my parents. They were exposed to scornful comments from society because they have three daughters,” Lovlina told Aaj Tak after her semi-final bout.

“People used to say that my parents must have done something wrong in their previous lives. That’s why they don’t have a son. So, this medal is for my parents; they have sacrificed a lot for us.”

“When i started boxing, people used to make sexist taunts to me. Hopefully, my performance has given such people, who hold that kind of thinking, a befitting reply,” she added.

Up against quite literally a bully in the ring, Borgohain was completely out-punched by the gold medal favourite Turkish boxer, who produced a thoroughly dominating performance.

Borgohain, who hails from Assam, also coped a one-point deduction in the second round for not paying attention to the referee’s instructions despite a couple of cautions.

“I was confident of winning the bout. I tried my best, but somehow I could not execute my plan. I could have done better,” said Lovlina.

Surmeneli was unrelenting in all three rounds after being unsettled only slightly in the opening few seconds when Borgohain tried to keep her at long range and struck only counter-attacking straight hits.

The Indian men’s campaign had ended in the quarter-final stage after Satish Kumar (+91kg) went down to world champion Bakhodir Jalolov. The other four male boxers bowed out after opening-round defeats.

Among the women, six-time world champion MC Mary Kom (51kg) lost in the pre-quarters, while Poja Rani (75kg) suffered defeat in the quarter-finals.

Commenting on her future goals, the 23-year-old said: “The focus is to change the colour of my medal at the Paris Olympics.”

“But before that, I want to win medals at the World Championships, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Games,” said Lovlina.