Overview
Lovlina Borgohain is an Indian boxer from Assam who competes in the welterweight category. She is best known for winning a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, becoming the first athlete from Assam to win an individual Olympic medal in boxing. She has also been a multiple-time medallist at the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships and is one of the leading figures in Indian women's boxing.
Key facts
| Full name | Lovlina Borgohain |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 October 1997 |
| Birthplace | Baromukhia, Sarupathar, Golaghat district, Assam, India |
| Sport | Boxing (amateur) |
| Weight class | Welterweight (69 kg); later 75 kg (middleweight) |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| National team | India |
| Notable honours | Arjuna Award (2020); Padma Shri (2020); Khel Ratna (2023) |
Background
Lovlina Borgohain was born on 2 October 1997 in the village of Baromukhia in the Sarupathar area of Golaghat district, Assam. She was introduced to martial arts through Muay Thai, which her elder twin sisters Licha and Lima practised, before shifting to boxing during her school years. She was identified at a Sports Authority of India (SAI) trial conducted at her school by coach Padum Boro and subsequently trained under national coach Shiv Singh.
Career
Early career
Borgohain rose through the junior and youth ranks of Indian boxing in the welterweight division. She became a regular member of the Indian senior women's boxing team in the late 2010s, competing at AIBA-sanctioned events and Asian-level tournaments.
World Championships
At the 2018 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships held in New Delhi, she won a bronze medal in the 69 kg category. She repeated the feat at the 2019 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Ulan-Ude, Russia, again finishing with a bronze. In 2023, at the IBA Women's World Boxing Championships held in New Delhi, she won the gold medal in the 75 kg category, becoming a world champion.
Asian Championships and Asian Games
Borgohain has medalled at the Asian Boxing Championships on multiple occasions. At the 2022 Asian Games held in Hangzhou (staged in 2023), she won a silver medal in the 75 kg category.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics
Borgohain qualified for the Tokyo Olympics through the Asia & Oceania Olympic Qualification Tournament held in Amman, Jordan, in 2020. At the Games, held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she competed in the women's welterweight (69 kg) event. She won her opening bouts to progress to the semi-finals, guaranteeing at least a bronze medal. She lost in the semi-final to eventual gold medallist Busenaz Sürmeneli of Turkey, finishing with a bronze. She was the only Indian boxer to win a medal at those Olympics and the third Indian boxer overall, after Vijender Singh (2008) and Mary Kom (2012), to win an Olympic medal.
Move to 75 kg and Paris 2024
After the Tokyo Olympics, Borgohain moved up to the 75 kg middleweight category. She qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in this division, where she was eliminated in the round of 16.
Awards and honours
- Arjuna Award (2020) for outstanding achievement in boxing.
- Padma Shri (2020), India's fourth-highest civilian honour.
- Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award (2023), India's highest sporting honour.
Significance
Borgohain's Olympic bronze in 2021 was a landmark moment for sport in Assam and the wider North-East region of India, where boxing has a strong following but limited Olympic representation. Her trajectory from a rural background in Golaghat to the Olympic podium has been credited with inspiring a fresh wave of young boxers, particularly women, in Assam. Her 2023 World Championship gold further established her as one of the most decorated Indian women boxers, alongside figures such as Mary Kom and Nikhat Zareen.