Golden Gift: Lovlina Borgohain Punches Her Way To Glory On Birthday, Clinches Maiden Asian Games Gold

· Free Press Journal

Mumbai: Lovlina Borgohain wanted a birthday present. Instead of waiting for someone else to give her one, she stepped into the boxing ring and won it herself.

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The Olympic bronze medallist celebrated her birthday in memorable fashion on Friday, defeating China's Ziyi Bao 5-0 by unanimous decision in the 75kg final to claim her maiden Asian Games gold.

The victory also upgraded the silver Lovlina won at the previous edition, where another Chinese boxer, Li Qian, had denied her the top prize.

This time, there would be no repeat.

"Today is my birthday. It's a very special birthday, I'm feeling really good. I thought I'd have to gift a gold medal on my birthday. It's the first time that I got a present for myself," Lovlina said.

"I gave it my all. I didn't think for a second that I would lose."

The triumph put Lovlina alongside MC Mary Kom as only the second Indian woman to win an Asian Games boxing gold. Mary Kom claimed the flyweight (51kg) title at the 2014 Games in Incheon.

But Lovlina's place in that exclusive club did not come easily.

Facing Bao for the first time, the Indian had to deal with an aggressive 20-year-old southpaw determined to negate her considerable height advantage.

Bao repeatedly attempted to close the distance, resulting in frequent clinches and a scrappy contest.

Lovlina, usually more measured in her approach, chose aggression at the start. She landed early punches, only for Bao to answer with combinations of her own.

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The Indian finished the opening round strongly with clean, heavy punches to edge it 3-2.

Bao increased the pressure in the second, trying to get inside Lovlina's reach. The Indian responded by keeping her opponent at bay before finding her range towards the end of the round. A succession of clean punches earned Lovlina the round 4-1 on the judges' cards.

"It was a very tough fight. But I was always thinking that I just have to win," Lovlina said.

"The opponent was very strong. I was playing with her for the first time. So I had no idea how she was going to play."

By the final round, Bao had little choice but to attack. She threw punches in abundance but struggled to connect cleanly against Lovlina's compact defence.

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With the advantage firmly in her hands, Lovlina picked her moments to counter before slowing the pace in the closing stages and refusing to be drawn into unnecessary exchanges.

When the verdict arrived, there was no ambiguity: 5-0 to Lovlina.

Her gold added further shine to India's impressive boxing campaign in Aichi-Nagoya, where the contingent has assured six medals.

Priya Ghanghas (60kg), Kapil Pokhariya (90kg) and Narender Berwal (+90kg) won bronze, while Parveen Hooda (65kg) and Ankush Panghal (80kg) were scheduled to fight for gold later on Friday.

For Lovlina, though, Friday was about more than another medal.

A silver upgraded to gold, an old disappointment erased and a birthday present secured with her own fists.

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