‘Lovlina Borgohain is so fit that she attacked till the last round’
The former India boxing coach hailed the performance which assured Lovlina of a medal at Tokyo 2020
Lovlina Borgohain sealed a semi-final berth in the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympics after defeating Chinese Taipei’s Chen Nien-Chin 4-1 in the women's welterweight event on Friday.
By doing so, the Indian pugilist has been assured of at least a bronze medal at the Olympics, which would be India’s third in boxing after Vijender Singh (Beijing 2008) and Mary Kom (London 2012) bronze medals.
Gurbax Singh Sandhu, under whose tutelage India won the two Olympic medals, pointed out that Lovlina was more aggressive in her approach and used combination punches which the opponent struggled to deal with.
“Lovlina played with guts. She is a fighter and that showed. She would always punch first and not wait for counters. And when she would get close to her she would try out combination punches, mostly first with her leading hand and then a hook or an uppercut. She is young and looks fearless. She becomes the second women boxer after Mary Kom to win a medal, a great achievement,” observed Sandhu in a chat with Olympics.com.
He suggested that Lovlina, who stands at 177m, used her height to her advantage and dominated the bout from the very first round.
“She used her height to her advantage and played long range. Also, she used her clinches very well. This strategy of hers paid off. From the first round, she was dominating and there was only one clear winner,” Sandhu said.
Lovlina Borgohain had suffered four defeats at the hands of Chen Nien-Chin before Friday. However, she didn’t let that play on her mind and instead produced a top-notch display.
Sandhu noted that Lovlina continued to attack in the final round as well, which only highlights her fitness levels.
“When you have already played her before then both of the boxers are a bit more aware. It plays in your mind. Definitely, the previous winner has more confidence but the one who loses is more serious. Lovlina has worked on her strategy and that showed today.”
“Sometimes even if you lose, you don't feel like you have lost and then next time you go in with more aggression. That might have worked for her. She is so fit that she continued to attack till the last round. Even after winning the first two rounds, she did not stop attacking and was relentless,” mentioned Sandhu.