Indian star boxer Lovlina Borgohain defeated Sunniva Hofstad from Norway in the round of 16 in the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024 to qualify for the quarterfinal of the marquee event. She will now face Li Qian of China to seal her spot in the semifinal berth. Lovlina who clinched a bronze medal in the last edition of the Olympics hosted by Tokyo during the coronavirus pandemic will surely look to change the colour of her medal in the ongoing Games.
Borgohain won the bronze medal in the 69kg category at Tokyo 2020, entered 75kg for the first time in the ongoing Olympics. On the other hand, the 20-year-old Hofstad, making her Summer Games debut, opted for an aggressive strategy in the initial rounds.
Her performance on the day was an assured one. While her rival seemed keen to draw her into a slugfest, Borgohain kept her composure and distance to land clean blows on the counter-attack. The Indian also had to deal with plenty of clinching by Hofstad, who came across busier of the two boxers, complete with a perilously low guard.
ALSO READ: 'We can't give excuses': Sri Lankan captain Charith Asalanka lashes out at middle-order batters for making a mess of run chase
ALSO READ: Gautam Gambhir couldn't stop smiling as Rinku Singh takes his maiden T20I wicket to turn game upside down; watch video
But the Assam-boxer didn't fall into the trap and attacked the Norwegian with precision by drawing her in. Borgohain has been handed a tough draw but the wiry pugilist has shown the ability to rise above it in her past performances, most notably in Tokyo where she defeated world champion Chen Nien-Chin in the quarterfinals to secure herself a bronze.
Her opponent on August 4, Qian, is a silver medallist from the Tokyo Games in the middle-weight (75kg) division. She had also won a bronze in the 2016 Rio Games and claimed a gold medal in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
