“She will play for the medal”: Lovlina Borgohain’s father ahad of boxer’s quarterfinal bout in Paris Olympics

Golaghat (Assam) [India], August 4 (ANI): Ahead of Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain’s quarterfinal bout in the Women’s 75 KG category at the ongoing Paris Olympics, her father Tiken Borgohain said that he is confident that the boxer will win today and get a medal for her country.

Borgohain will face Li Qian of the People’s Republic of China, who defeated her for the Asian Games gold in Hangzhou last year on Sunday at 3:02 PM IST.

“She will play for the medal today. Today’s game is going to be very important for her. I hope she gives her 100 per cent today. I haven’t talked to her today. We talked yesterday. I told her to remember all that she learnt in the last 2-3 years…” Tiken Borgohain told ANI.

Earlier in the Round of 16, Lovlina defeated Sunniva Hofstad 5-0 in the women’s 75 kg round of 16 bouts on Wednesday. Borgohain, a bronze medalist in the 69 kg category at Tokyo 2020, is seeded eighth in her first 75 kg Olympic tournament.

Making her Summer Games debut, the 20-year-old Hofstad adopted an aggressive approach in the first two rounds. However, Lovlina was resolute in defence, smothering her opponent’s punches while countering with precision, according to Olympics.com.

The Norwegian boxer improved in the third round, but it wasn’t enough to outscore the reigning Asian Games silver medalist. With this win, Borgohain advanced to the quarterfinals.

Earlier in the day, India boxer Nishant Dev narrowly missed out on a medal after falling short in the men’s 71kg quarter-finals at the ongoing marquee event.

Nishant dominated the first round against Mexico’s Marco Verde. But the Mexican boxer made ground and eventually scripted a comeback to ensure a medal for his country.

In round one, Nishant got off to an aggressive start, and the Mexican ducked around to evade the flurry of blows that came his way. The 23-year-old boxer connected with a couple of blows towards the end. He was rewarded for his aggressive approach, and four judges favoured Nishant.

In round two, Nishant continued with his intensity and jabbed straight, and Verde failed to cover up. The bout started to turn around after Verde started to exert pressure on Nishant. The second round ended in a split decision favouring Verde 3-2.

In round three, Verde adopted a much more aggressive approach and landed a combination of punches. Verde cornered Nishant and connected with some uppercuts.

The fatigue started to reflect in Nishant’s body language, and Verde once again pinned him to the corner. The Mexican boxer made a comeback and won the quarter-finals by 4-1.