Sport has a way of turning personal dreams into collective pride. Few athletes understand that better than Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain, who still remembers the exact moment her identity as a boxer from Assam transformed into something much larger.
“It still gives me goosebumps,” she says, recalling the first time she won her first medal while she represented India at the international stage. “When I stood on that podium after winning my first medal and heard the national anthem play, I realised I was no longer just Lovlina. I was carrying the pride of India with me, and in that moment Jana Gana Mana felt bigger than victory—it felt like responsibility and love for my country rolled into one,” she added.
On National Sports Day, Lovlina finds herself reflecting not only on her own milestones but also on how India’s relationship with sport has grown. “There was a time when even dreaming of becoming a boxer felt distant, almost unreal,” she admits. “But today when I see parents encouraging children, and stadiums filling up for boxing, wrestling, badminton, hockey, athletics—it feels like all those early mornings and sacrifices were worth it. Because the dream is no longer mine alone, it belongs to an entire generation,” she adds.
{{/usCountry}}On National Sports Day, Lovlina finds herself reflecting not only on her own milestones but also on how India’s relationship with sport has grown. “There was a time when even dreaming of becoming a boxer felt distant, almost unreal,” she admits. “But today when I see parents encouraging children, and stadiums filling up for boxing, wrestling, badminton, hockey, athletics—it feels like all those early mornings and sacrifices were worth it. Because the dream is no longer mine alone, it belongs to an entire generation,” she adds.
{{/usCountry}}The conversation naturally shifts to women in sport, a subject close to her heart. She remembers the scepticism she once faced with a wry smile. “When I first started, people would tell me boxing was not for girls. Now those same people celebrate women athletes winning Olympic medals and world titles. That shift is as important as the medals themselves because it tells every young girl that strength has no gender,” says Lovlina
Her journey—from a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 to being crowned world champion in 2023—has been decorated, but she insists the true reward lies elsewhere. “Each medal has meant something different, but the real victory is seeing how girls today step into the ring without fear, knowing the country is behind them,” she says.