Silver jeeti toh aaj nahi toh kal log tanne bhool javenge. Gold jeeti toh misaal ban javegi!” says Aamir Khan, playing wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat in Dangal (2016). Perhaps that’s how special the recent gold medal is for boxer Lovlina Borgohain, who made India proud at the recent Asian Boxing Championships 2022 in Amman, Jordan.
In Delhi at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, Lovlina shared that the achievement is a small step towards her bigger goal of clinching a gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. “Mere bahut saare competitions mein bronze medal hi hain including the 2017 and 2021 Asian Boxing Championships. Yeh pehla gold medal hai toh mummy papa bhi bahut khush hain. They were worried as I had a nose injury (before the tournament).”
Recalling how she couldn’t perform well in IBA World Championship and 2022 Commonwealth Games, the 25-year-old says, “Kuch din se iss weight category mein training karke set hui hoon. Aage jo tournament aayega, koshish karungi usmein bhi achha perform kar paun.” Borgohain, who recently changed her weight category from 69kg to 75kg, adds, “Sab log sochte hain ki weight badha ke kaise khelenge kyunki opponent aur bhi zyada strong honge. But one also needs to focus on body strength, observe your opponents and adapt accordingly,” shares the 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist.
{{/usCountry}}Recalling how she couldn’t perform well in IBA World Championship and 2022 Commonwealth Games, the 25-year-old says, “Kuch din se iss weight category mein training karke set hui hoon. Aage jo tournament aayega, koshish karungi usmein bhi achha perform kar paun.” Borgohain, who recently changed her weight category from 69kg to 75kg, adds, “Sab log sochte hain ki weight badha ke kaise khelenge kyunki opponent aur bhi zyada strong honge. But one also needs to focus on body strength, observe your opponents and adapt accordingly,” shares the 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist.
{{/usCountry}}The pugilist has been craving Delhi’s famous momos throughout her time in the Capital. “Momos khaane ka mann tha bahut (chuckles). Lekin diet ka bahut zyada khayal rakhna hai abhi,” confesses Lovlina, who has been confined to training so far. She adds, “Abhi toh main weight badha rahi hoon. But you can’t eat just about anything. Koi bhi fast food ya fatty cheez kha li, usse training mein thakaan hoti hai. Sometimes I feel like eating kuch hatke in Delhi, but then it shows up in training.”
“Boxing ke liye Delhi mein hi rehna hota hai, and so our women’s team has come to form a connection with the city. Saturday aur Sunday ko off milta hai, toh kabhi malls chale jaate hain toh kabhi India Gate,” she says.
The athlete recalls how four of the five women boxers competing on the day when she won gold at the Asian Boxing Championships 2022, were Indian. “Ladki log change ho raha hai. Ek sports ka environment aa raha hai. During the last World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Nikhat (Zareen) ne jaisa perform kiya. Parveen (Hooda) ka bhi Asian Championships mein gold aaya. The government is supporting us, and the coaches have also changed,” she concludes.
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