Prediction: Can Lovlina Borgohain win a medal at the Paris Olympics 2024?
Lovlina Borgohain is one of those athletes from the Indian contingent who will be entering the 2024 Paris Olympics as a strong contender to win the country a medal. Based on her heroics at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and her overall potential, India expects the pugilist to excel at the upcoming Summer Games.
By winning the bronze medal in Tokyo, Borgohain had become only the third boxer after Vijender Singh and Mary Kom to bring home an Olympic medal. She would now be hoping to etch her name in the history books as only the first among Indian boxers to win two medals at the coveted Games.
Lovlina Borgohain stands a great chance at securing a medal in Paris even though she will not be competing in the same category as she did at the Tokyo Olympics. The pugilist, who won the bronze in the 69kg category in the 2020 edition, will now be competing in the 75kg category.
Though changing weight categories can often bring in additional challenges for a boxer and is not always the easiest thing to do, Lovlina appears to have taken very well to the change. Since moving up to 75kg, the 26-year-old has become the Asian champion in the category in 2022 and also went on to become the world champion in 2023.
She then went on to win a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, where she performed with great strength and precision before losing a closely fought final to a unanimous decision in favor of China’s Li Qian. Overall, her performances post the change in weight category is a great indicator that she is prepared to continue her form at the Paris Olympics.
Can Lovlina Borgohain win a medal in Paris?
Though the Assamese boxer seems prepared to perform at the upcoming Games, her dream of achieving a consecutive Olympic podium finish could rely heavily on a potential quarterfinal bout against the two-time Olympic medalist Li Qian.
Lovlina Borgohain has been seeded eighth in the women’s 75kg category, which makes it likely that she will be facing Li, the top seed, in the quarter-final. The seeding system that was announced by the Paris Boxing Unit (PBU) is designed to enhance competition by avoiding early matchups between top contenders. Lovlina is the sole seeded Indian pugilist in the draw.
Lovlina and Li have competed in the boxing ring on several big stages globally. A loss to the Chinese pugilist in the 2023 Asian Games final could possibly be at the back of the Indian boxer’s head when they square off in Paris. However, it is not just the somber memories of a loss that would be in the background for Borgohain when she comes up against Qian.
Lovlina Borgohain would take plenty of optimism out of her splendid win against the same opponent when they had previously met in the semifinals of the 2023 IBA Women’s Boxing World Championships in Delhi. In what was possibly one of Lovlina's best-ever wins, the boxer defeated Qian in a 4-1 split decision.
Thus, it would not be wrong to believe that a potential quarterfinal bout against Li could contribute heavily to paving the path for the young Indian star, who is envisioning a record second Olympic medal for herself in Paris. If Lovlina Borgohain can overcome the said challenge, she would very well be poised to achieve a podium finish.