Paris Olympics 2024: Assam’s Lovlina Borgohain Misses Boxing Medal; Knocked Out In Quarterfinals
PARIS: India's pursuit of a medal in boxing got shattered on Sunday as Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain was knocked out of the Paris Olympics 2024.
The star boxer lost in the quarter-finals against Li Qian of China in the women’s 75kg quarterfinal bout.
India's hopes of a medal in boxing rested on Lovlina's shoulders as all the other Indian boxers crashed out of the tournament. However, that got crushed as the Chinese pugilist beat Lovlina by a 4-1 split decision.
Qian started off the match impressively as the Chinese won the first round with a 3-2 split decision and she emulated this performance in the second round, winning by a similar margin.
Lovlina managed to narrow the gap with four of the five judges tied on points, but Qian secured a 4-1 decision in her favour in the final round to seal her berth in the semi-finals of the quadrennial event.
Prior to this match, Lovlina had thrashed Sunniva Hofstad of Norway to register a convincing win by unanimous decision to reach the quarterfinals.
Borgohain had an opportunity to script history but her opponent Li Qian produced a masterclass as the two-time Olympic medalist and former world champion dominated the proceedings from the get-go.
Meanwhile, Debutant Nishant Dev (71kg) bowed out of the Paris Olympics following a heartbreaking defeat to Mexico's Marco Verde Alvarez in the men's 71kg quarterfinal on Saturday.
The Indian boxing contingent will return empty-handed from Paris as medal prospects Lovlina Borgohain and Nishant Dev crashed out in the quarter-finals.
On the other hand, Amit Panghal, Nikhat Zareen, Jaismine Lamboria, and Preeti Pawar were eliminated in the early stages of the tournament, marking a disappointing boxing campaign for India.
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