Assam boxer Lovlina Borgohain honored with 'Arjuna Award', Rohit Sharma gets 'Khel Ratna'

Guwahati: Assam's ace pugilist Lovlina Borgohain has once again brought laurels to the state by being awarded the Arjuna Award.

Borgohain, who has carved out a name for herself after a string of impressive performances in the nation as well as international arenas, is among 27 athletes and sportspersons who have been honored with the award by the Government this year.

The 22-year-old Lovlina won a gold medal at 1st India Open International Boxing Tournament held in New Delhi and a silver medal at the 2nd India Open International Boxing Tournament held in Guwahati. Most recently, she won a bronze medal at the 2019 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships held in Ulan-Ude, Russia.

Lovlina Borgohain has become the first woman from Assam to qualify for the Olympics and the second boxer from the state to represent the country after Shiva Thapa.

Somewhat glaringly, though, former Khel Ratna winners Sakshi Malik and Mirabai Chanu were not named among the recipients of the award.

This year, 8 coaches have been selected for the Dronacharya Award in the lifetime category and 5 coaches have been selected in the 'regular' category.

Meanwhile, India's star batsman Rohit Sharma has been named among the 5 recipients of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award this year. Mariyappan T (para-athletics), Manika Batra (table tennis), Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling) and Rani Rampal (Hockey) are the others who have been honored with the award.

Borgohain was on Tuesday, August 18, named in a 29-strong list of athletes recommended for the prestigious Arjuna Award by the Sports Ministry's selection committee.

The formal announcement has been made on Friday (August 21) after the Sports Ministry gives approval on this recommendation.

Lovlina, a two-times medal winner in the World Boxing Championship, is currently busy preparing herself for the next Olympics which is scheduled to be held in Tokyo in 2021.

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