Tokyo journey was incomplete without gold medal win, admits Lovlina Borgohain
Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain is confident of bettering her performance at the Games, when the Paris edition arrives, in 2024. The athlete from Assam became only the third Indian pugilist from India to claim a medal at the Olympics, after Vijender Singh and Mary Kom.
When the usual suspects were busy bottling at the biggest stage, pugilist Lovlina Borgohain, out of the blue stormed to the semi-finals in the women’s welterweight category to assure herself a medal. However, she could have bettered the colour of the hue, if not for a dominating 0-5 defeat at the hands of Turkish Busenaz Surmeneli.
In spite of her herculean effort and a billion congratulatory messages from India, the Assamese boxer was gutted at herself for not making it to the final bout and also not winning the gold medal, which was her ultimate aim. As per her verdict, the journey has been incomplete for her, even though she was happy returning with a medal.
“It feels great. I have enjoyed the entire Tokyo Olympic journey. But I am not fully satisfied with my performance. My dream was to win a gold medal. So, this journey was incomplete for me. But I am happy that I didn't come back empty-handed and managed to win a medal for my country,” said Lovlina Borgahain, during an interview with the TOI.
With a curtailed wait for the next Olympics in Paris, the preparation for the event is expected to start soon. For Lovlina, she is now focusing on the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and the World Championships as major tools to test herself before realising her ultimate aim – to win a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I have to start from scratch now. I don't want to miss a single thing in terms of practice or training. Ahead of the Olympics, I want to focus on the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, and World Championships. I want to test myself in these tournaments. My ultimate aim is to win Olympic gold in Paris. I am eager to change the colour of the medal,” added Lovlina Borgohain.