Updated: August 29, 2020 10:46:43 am
On Saturday, Lovlina Borgohain will attend the first remote ceremony of the national sports awards via Zoom.
If things were normal, I would have been at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi accepting the coveted Arjuna Award from the President of India. But on Saturday, 22-year-old boxer from Assam, Lovlina Borgohain, will be dressed in a PPE suit, on the way from Patiala to Chandigarh, where she will attend the first remote ceremony of the National Sports Awards via Zoom. In July, too, things had not gone as planned: Instead of competing in the world’s biggest sporting event in Tokyo, she was back in her village in Assam, planting rice in muddy waters. But Borgohain, said to be the first woman to qualify for the Assam Olympics, is far from disappointed. The journey from the remote village of Bara Mukhia in Assam’s Golaghat district began eight years ago, and the 5’11-tall Borgohain has learned to take it easy, be it an opponent in the boxing ring or some patriarchy. ancestral. Edited excerpts from an interview:
This year, things have not gone as planned …
They have not done it. Under normal circumstances, I could have gone to Rashtrapati Bhavan and had a photo with the President of India. But yesterday, I went to rehearsal in Chandigarh, dressed in a PPE. But okay, it is what it is. Even when the Olympics were postponed, I was initially disappointed, but then I realized that I could use this year to improve my game. I had qualified for the Olympics in the 69 kg category by winning a bronze medal. Clearly, there is a lot of room for improvement.
Lovlina Borgohain.
You are the only person from Assam who has won the Arjuna prize this year. how does it make you feel?
When I found out about the award, I was in Patiala. Of course, I was happy, but my family members at home were even happier. All the villagers landed at my house, with dhul and pepa (musical instruments) and it turned out as a festive occasion of Bihu, which made me miss my home even more. This year, the confinement gave me the opportunity to be at home for three or four months in a row after eight long years. Since I moved to Guwahati in 2012, I have lived in Bhopal, Visakhapatnam, Delhi, Patiala and have even trained in a camp in Italy, but not at home. My two sisters, of whom I am very close, were also at home, my nephew had just been born and I was planting rice fields in the fields, just like in the old days. Of course, I kept practicing every night in a small room in my house.
Read also | Arjuna Awards and Dhyan Chand Award for Pune-trained Army Athletes
What led you to start boxing?
When I was in class 5, my father showed me a newspaper clipping of Muhammad Ali. That was probably my introduction to boxing. But it was in Muay Thai that I trained for the first time. In Class 9, one of my neighbors introduced me to Muay Thai and for a year and a half, I was cycling 2 km every day for my lessons. In 2012, I met a Guwahati coach named Padum Boro, who impressed with my skills asked me if I would like to go to Guwahati to train.
Lovlina with her parents, Tiken and Mamoni Borgohain.
So you had to change sport?
Something like. Muay Thai is different from boxing because it has both kicks and punches. My boxing instructors told me: “Etiya bhori namariba, okol haat solua” – stop kicking, start punching. Although I realized that easily, my training at the national camp in Bhopal was the real challenge. I was crude in my abilities and this was the first time I had left my house. Until then I slept in the same bed as my mother. In those days I had to participate in my first competitive fights and inevitably lost everything, which made me cry and wander with my nose and eyes swollen. On days when she got a good beating, she didn’t talk to anyone. But even then the idea of giving up never occurred to me. With the help of Coach Shiv Singh Sir (who was awarded the Dronacharya this year), I slowly got the hang of it and things got better. I continued to compete in many international tournaments, including the Commonweath Games and the AIBA World Boxing Championships, and I finally got a little closer to my dream, when I qualified for the Olympics in March 2020.
Opinion: The Number Of Awarded Arjuna, Khel Ratna Disagree With The State Of Indian Sports
Lovlina with her sisters Lima and Licha.
That’s a long journey …
Yes it is. Growing up, my family has faced difficult times. My father used to do small jobs that used to get him between 1,500 and 2,000 a month. I remember that in the village they often felt sorry for my parents, who had no sons but three daughters. But my parents wouldn’t accept any of that. For example, it was not kosher for girls in our village to wear jeans (they wore skirts or mekhela chadors or saris) but on the contrary, my father encouraged us to do so. In fact, we could do whatever we wanted: dress however we want, ride a bike, or even wear our hair short. My mother always told us to do something to prove the critics wrong. And we did. My two sisters, Licha and Lima, have jobs in the Central Industrial Security Force and the Border Security Force, and I am a boxer.
Read also | Why Sakshi Malik and Mirabai Chanu were justified in applying for the Arjuna Prize
Lovilna at home during the confinement.
What makes a good boxer?
In boxing, or in any other sport, you need not only a strong body, but also a strong mind. The key is to stay focused. In my previous matches, about two or three years ago, I was very nervous. I soon learned that this was not the case: in boxing, one blow could change everything. Now I have learned to keep a cool head and tell myself that all I have to do is give my one hundred percent, nothing else matters. My main goal is the Olympics, which has been my goal since I joined the sport. In 2015, I got a tattoo of the five Olympic rings on my wrist. The tattoo is a reminder to stay motivated.
📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay up to date with the latest headlines
For the latest news from Northeast India, download the Indian Express app.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
.
