Olympic boxing hopeful Lovlina Borgohain tests positive for COVID-19
The Indian boxer was due to fly to Italy for a training camp as part of a 28-member Indian contingent.
Indian women’s boxer Lovlina Borgohain has tested COVID-19 positive.
The two-time World Championships bronze medallist is a quota holder for next year’s Tokyo Olympics, having earned her ticket at the Asian boxing Qualifiers in Amman, Jordan in March this year.
The news comes just before the 23-year-old Lovlina was set to fly to Europe for a 52-day training-cum-competition trip as part of a 28-member Indian contingent, including 16 boxers. The European tour is till December 5.
Lovlina Borgohain had travelled to Assam to attend to her ailing mother at home and come back to Delhi before flying to Italy.
Borgohain’s first COVID-19 test was conducted on October 11 when she returned from her 11-day-long trip to Guwahati. The result was negative. However, when the boxer was tested again on October 15 before boarding the flight to Italy, it returned positive.
The Indian boxer was already self-isolating after coming back from Assam according to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). Lovlina is under medical observation now, according to the Sports Authority of India.
Lovlina, who is in the 69kg women’s category, is one of the nine Indian pugilists who have won a quota place for the Olympics.
Five other Olympic quota holders - Amit Panghal, Ashish Kumar, Satish Kumar, Simranjit Kaur and Pooja Rani – are travelling to Italy.
Thirteen of the 16 boxers are also due to participate in the Alexis Vastine international tournament at Nantes, France, from October 28 to 30.
London 2012 bronze-medallist and six-time world champion MC Mary Kom had already pulled out of the European camp citing COVID concerns related to travel.
The remaining quota holders – Vikas Krishan and Manish Kaushik – had also opted out of the tour. Krishan is training in the USA while Kaushik is recovering from an injury.