Guwahati: Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) brought home India’s second bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics after shuttler PV Sindhu as she went down swinging in her 69kg welterweight semifinal against Busenaz Surmeneli on Wednesday (August 4).
Lovlina became just the second female boxer after MC Mary Kom to win an Olympic bronze medal. Mary Kom had won the 2012 London Olympics bronze.
The 23-year-old from Assam, who started her career as a Muay Thai practitioner, has become only the third Indian boxer to ensure a podium finish at the showpiece after Vijender Singh (2008) and M C Mary Kom (2012).
India’s only other medal at this Olympics came in the form of weightlifter Mirabai Chanu’s silver in the 49kg division.
Lovlina, currently the World No. 3, had earlier beaten World No. 2 Chen Nien-Chin of Chinese Taipei 4-1 in the quarterfinals to ensure herself a medal. Turkey’s Surmeneli had won both her previous matches at this Olympics by unanimous decision and she won this match in a similar fashion too.
Lovlina had defeated highly-accomplished opponents in her two previous rounds. Chen was a former world champion, while the round of 16 opponent Nadine Apetz is also a two-time medalist at the Worlds, winning bronze in 2016 and 2018.
