Olympic bronze winner keen to put behind World Championships setback
"You learn more from a defeat than a victory," were Tokyo bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain's words after her shocking pre-quarterfinal exit from the World Boxing Championships in May, her first major tournament in 278 days post her heroics in the Olympic Games.
Away from the ring for more than nine months, fulfilling sponsorship commitments and attending innumerable felicitation events, Lovlina, by her own admission wasn't mentally strong and was unable to handle match pressure at the Worlds in Turkey.
The lanky Assamese pugilist did manage to cross the first hurdle by beating her old nemesis, former world champion Nien-Chin Chen of the Chinese Taipei by a split decision verdict, before going down 1-4 to Cindy Ngamba of the Fair Chance Team in the next round, to bring the curtains down on her maiden campaign in the 70kg class.
The 24-year-old conceded that the loss at the World Championships came at the right juncture, as it helped settle the dust of the post-Olympic frenzy and the expectations she carried each time she steps into the ring.
"I have lost many bouts in the past, no one noticed then. But when you carry that tag of an Olympic medallist, the expectations understandably rise. That also creates an undue pressure on the athlete. Now that it's out of the way, I can train with an open mind," quipped the boxer during a recent interaction with TOI.
Early last month, she walked the talk and sealed a CWG 2022 spot in the 70-kg category after winning the trials against Pooja of the Railways by a whopping 7-0 margin. Determined to make up for the lost opportunity at the 2018 edition in Gold Coast, Lovlina wants to take one step at a time on her way to her primary goal of winning the gold in Paris.
"For now, the next step is the Commonwealth Games and I want to become a champion there. The gold at Paris remains the ultimate goal," maintained Lovlina, the third Indian boxer after Vijender Singh (2008 bronze) and MC Mary Kom (2012 bronze) to win an Olympic medal.
Not discounting the threats
Despite the absence of several world class pugilists, Lovlina doesn't want to discount the level of competition at the Commonwealth Games. "Every international event is tough. I don't want to demean by saying that CWG is not a tough tournament," she quipped at the ceremonial send-off.
The two-time World Championship bronze medallist will have to overcome the challenge posed by boxers from the traditional powerhouses England, Australia and Ireland, for ensuring herself a smooth ride to the podium.
