NISHIO/CHENNAI: A gold medal at the Asian Games. Birthdays can't get any better than this.
Lovlina Borgohain, who turned 29 on Friday, did what she does best to produce one of her best performances in recent memory at the Nishio Gymnasium.
It was a boxing clinic. She had a steep test in the final — as is expected at the elite level — but she made it look easy to walk away as Asian Games gold medallist, becoming the second woman -- Parveen Hooda later followed suit to become No 3 -- from the country to achieve the feat in the process. "It's very special. I think it’s the first time that I got a present for myself," Lovlina said after the bout.
It was a statement performance since this victory had taken its time to marinate and cook.
Being one of the high-profile boxers in the country, there's always close scrutiny on her. While young boxers started producing headline-grabbing results, she had taken the back seat. To understand her recent challenges, one has to look back at the 2024 Paris Games. Eyeing her second medal in the mother of all events, she had narrowly missed out on her objective to return empty-handed.
Following that low, she had an extended period of inactivity, and when she eventually made a comeback, she had found the going tough inside the ring. The drive and hunger was there but the body, due to lack of fitness, was not quite ready. A nine-minute show -- she lost her first fight -- at the Liverpool World Championships in 2025 was the nadir.
And yet, the boxer, who was born in Baramukhia village in Golaghat district of Assam, never felt hopeless. Though things were not going her way, she knew things would eventually fall in place. Given her wealth of experience, the Assam boxer knew what she was required of her then.
"I have to work on my strength. When we take a break, we tend to lose muscles and the strength tends to go down in the process. So I need to dedicate some time to regaining my muscles. It generally takes time to build muscles. Otherwise, I have the experience and have learnt to handle many other aspects of the sport," she had told The New Indian Express in December.
The turn of the new year was more promising. A bronze medal at the Asian Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, followed by a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year. It was good but far from spectacular. Deep down, she knew she had more in the tank.
Over the last few days though, Lovlina was operating with a different energy. More zip in her movement and more venom in her punches. Having reached the final, she clearly wanted nothing less than gold. Bao Ziyi, the reigning Asian champ, threw the kitchen sink at her but the Indian didn't flinch. The Chinese boxer had a reach disadvantage and was forced to play ugly by cinching on several occasions, a common tactic employed by almost every boxer to disrupt their opponent's flow and avoid damage. But Lovlina was unperturbed and calmly cut her opponent apart with some strong combination blows and counter punches. In the end, there was only one winner — Lovlina was adjudged victor by unanimous verdict.
Delighted to have changed the colour of the medal -- she had won silver in the last edition, she later said that she had plenty of belief in herself this time around. "This is my second Asiad and I had silver at the last edition (Hangzhou 2022). So I was fully confident that I could get the gold medal. I gave my 100 per cent," the Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist said.
As Lovlina retraced her magic, her coach, Pranamika Borah, couldn't have been happier. During her aforementioned challenges, the SAI coach had given her the much-needed lift to help her gradually regain her powers.
"I had spoken to her after the semifinal win. I had told her 'you just give your best, you have plenty of experience. Given your experience, your opponent is nothing in front of you. So you just play freely, the result will come on its own but you just perform'. Not just today, in the quarters and semis too, she did very well. She left no stone unturned. I enjoyed it," Pranamika told The New Indian Express.
The coach from Sports Authority of India (SAI) National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) in Guwahati said that the recent setbacks in marquee events had served as an eye-opener for her.
"Losses (final) at the Hangzhou Asian Games, Paris Games (quarterfinals) had given her plenty of experience. She had worked on areas she had felt short then. She was totally focussed. She played as per her plan."
The two go a long way back. Pranamika, a former Asian Championships silver medallist, has known her since the beginning of her career. In fact, it was Pranamika who had recommended her name to Assam Boxing Federation for her first nationals at Kolkata in 2012.
Their bond runs deep. Lovlina gets that added confidence when she's by the ringside or handing her instructions in the training. It's no wonder why she had unsuccessfully fought for her long-time coach to be included in the national camp. When that request was turned down, Lovlina, who has grown to be more vocal over the years, was naturally upset then and that had an adverse effect on her game. That's when Pranamika was the voice of reason to help her regain her focus. "I had explained to her 'today, I'm here, tomorrow maybe it's not possible. You have to start performing while training with a different person as well. That's your job. Be positive," Pranamika, who was part of the coaching staff in the 2010 Asian Games, recalled.
"That's why she was slightly down once her request was turned down. Her performance also went down. After that I tried to explain to her that this is not how it is and she gradually adjusted."
It has been over a decade that Lovlina has been competing at the elite level. Naturally, that takes a toll on the body and fitness becomes foremost. For Pranamika, fitness is a priority whenever she comes to train under her guidance in Guwahati. "I generally try to focus on her fitness. If she's fit enough, then she'll manage her fights well. I have full belief in her. One thing that I like about her is she never complains about training. She is fully committed in her training. Whatever schedule I give her, she follows it," the coach from Jorhat district in Assam said.
"Now she knows herself. She tries to maintain her fitness on her own as well."
With her latest exploits, Lovlina has cemented her spot for next year's World Championships, which will also have Olympic quotas on offer. Pranamika feels her ward is destined for another round at the Olympics. "Lovlina will definitely compete in the Olympics. There's no one in India who can beat her. But I'll also have to stress that she has to maintain her training. If she doesn't train properly, anybody can beat her as well. Training is a must."
Many boxers have come and left over the years but Lovlina has stood the test of time to become one of the household names in the country. This latest feat could be just the kick she needed as she looks to chase her dream of becoming an Olympic champion.