Who is Nien-Chin Chen - The boxer who stands between Lovlina Borgohain and an Olympic medal?
The Indian boxer might have a tough time against the World Championship gold medallist
Lovlina Borgohain progressed to the quarterfinal of the ongoing Tokyo Olympics after winning against Germany's Nadine Apetz in the 69kg Round of 16 bout. It was a close fight but the Indian prevailed, courtesy of a 3-2 split decision at the Ryogoku Kokugikan arena.
In the next round, she will be up against Chinese Taipei's Nien-Chin Chen on Sunday morning. Let us take at the boxer who stands between Lovlina and an assured Olympic medal.
Who is Nien-Chin Chen?
Chen is a 24-year-old boxer who hails from the Hualien County in Chinese Taipei. It was on her uncle's advice that she shifted to boxing from wrestling at the age of 14. In 2013, she won gold in the 75kg category at the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Women's Junior and Youth World Boxing Championships in Bulgaria. She further improved her performances inside the ring and won silver in the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing.
Chen qualified for Rio after beating Moroccan opponent Khadija Mardi at the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships finals in Kazakhstan which made her the first female boxer from Chinese Taipei to qualify for the Olympics.
She is 5 ft 7 in tall and hence, Borgohain will have that height advantage against her since the Indian pugilist is three inches taller than her opponent.
However, in the 2018 World Championship which was held in New Delhi, Borgohain was beaten comprehensively by Chen in the semifinals. She was warned a couple of times for hitting the back of the head by the referee but a final warning in the final round cost her a place in the final. Chen was slow to start the bout but from the second round, she gained steam and the Indian looked out of her wits.
"The bout was good from my point of view but it did not go as planned. The girl was really tough. In the last round, they docked my points with the warning. Both of us were clinching in that last round but only I was penalised for it. When they cut the point, it felt that I could lose the bout now," she had said after the loss.
Chen went on to face Hong Gu of China in the final and she defeated her as well to go on to win her maiden gold in World Championship.
Before that in 2016, she won the bronze medal in the same competition. Chen was in a brilliant form throughout the tournament and did not concede a single round until the semifinals. In the last four, she met USA's legendary boxer Claressa Shields, who handed her a comprehensive defeat.
Her best performance in the Asian Championship came in 2019 when she won silver after losing the gold medal match to familiar foe Gu Hong.