PM Modi congratulates boxer Lovlina for bagging bronze in Tokyo Olympics
"Well fought Lovlina Borgohain! Her success in the boxing ring inspires several Indians. Her tenacity and determination are admirable. Congratulations to her on winning the Bronze. Best wishes for her future endeavours," tweeted PM Modi.
Congratulating boxer Lovlina Borgohain on her success at the Tokyo Olympics, PM Narendra Modi said the 23-year-old's performance in the boxing ring will inspire several Indians. Lovlina settled for the bronze medal after losing her semi-final bout to Turkey's Busenaz Surmeneli in women's welterweight (65-69kg) category on Wednesday.
"Well fought @LovlinaBorgohai! Her success in the boxing ring inspires several Indians. Her tenacity and determination are admirable. Congratulations to her on winning the Bronze. Best wishes for her future endeavours. #Tokyo2020," tweeted PM Modi.
Lovlina is the third Indian boxer after Vijender Singh (bronze in 2008 Beijing Olympics) and Mary Kom (bronze in 2012 London Olympics) to win an Olympic medal.
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Lovlina was completely out-punched by the gold medal favourite Turkish boxer, who produced a thoroughly dominating performance.
The boxer from Assam lost 0-5 by unanimous decision to the world champion from Turkey.
"I don't know what to say. I could not execute what I had planned. I could have done better," Borgohain told PTI after the loss.
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"PM spoke to Lovlina Borgohain & congratulated her on winning Bronze. PM told her that her win is a testimony to talent & tenacity of our Nari Shakti. He also said that her success is a matter of immense pride for every Indian, especially for Assam & the Northeast," news agency ANI reported through a Twitter post.
The Indian's start was not all that bad as she stood up to the strong challenge but she came undone after Surmeneli got down to connecting her vicious hooks and body shots.The third round was especially punishing for Borgohain, who faced two standing eight counts during the bout.
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 flamboyant Turkish boxer didn't just out-punch her rival after that but also taunted her with some showboating, including dropping her guard to dare the Indian.
(With agency inputs)
