Guwahati: A smile on her lips and sweat on her brows has been Lovlina Borgohain’s everyday story right from the day she picked up the gloves in remote Baromukhia village of Golaghat district. As she grew from strength to strength from the age-group levels to taking the third spot at the Tokyo Olympics and further improving it with a gold medal at the IBA women’s world championship in New Delhi recently, the lanky Assamese pugilist has overcome multiple obstacles, including dealing with menstrual hygiene during major competitions.
While this is still a taboo conversation in India, where some households still ostracise menstruating women, Lovlina is open to sharing her ordeal with budding athletes.
“As a female player, I can help budding women boxers deal with menstruation cramps during competitions, as I have faced a similar situation but emerged successful while dealing with the pain. I can guide players on handling stress and mental health during their low phase. I hope my suggestions will be considered as and when required by the government,” she told EastMojo on the sidelines of a felicitation event, organised by the Assam Amateur Boxing Association (AABA) in Guwahati.
The 25-year-old, however, doesn’t want to limit herself as a coach once she retires from the sport. Lovlina has a broader perspective of mentoring youngsters to reach the top level.
“I don’t think a good player can also turn out to be a good coach. But that’s a personal opinion, and it isn’t the case with everyone. I don’t think if I coach someone, he or she will go on to become a great boxer. Whatever I have done or achieved so far in my career, it’s my skills and hard work,” she said.
“Being a player, I won’t be the best judge of the youngster’s mental strength or the circumstances he/she has taken up the sport because at the end of the day, I will always try to compare myself with others. Thus, I feel I won’t be a good coach but could be a good mentor. I understand players’ concerns, I have been a part of the set-up, and can help the player sort out issues in the long run,” she added.
“From a personal point of view, I want to groom more athletes from Assam to win medals at the Olympics, and in that regard I have been in constant touch with the state government as there are some plans in the pipeline,” Lovlina further said.
Coming back to her playing career, Lovlina has also learnt to deal with the mental aspect of her game, and doesn’t let the noise on social media affect her.
“It’s not important what others feel or speak about me, I know what I am doing. I can be my best judge, it’s totally on us how we deal with our issues. Life is all about ups and downs, and every challenge teaches us a lesson, but we need to take those in our stride and try to emerge stronger,” Lovlina said.
“Social media is a part of our everyday lives, and I’m also a part of it. But during competitions, I distance myself totally from the noise, as whatever is spoken or written, good or bad, it definitely impacts you,” Lovlina quipped.
Already halfway into the Olympic cycle, the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardee pugilist believes that the two setbacks at the 2022 World Championships and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham came at the right time, and helped her emerge as a mature and thinking boxer in the ring.
“It takes time to get good results, because there are so many external factors affecting our lives and boxing. I won a medal at the Olympics but lost in CWG. And people started criticising me like I am no one. That phase of failure taught me a lot. If I hadn’t lost at those two championships, I wouldn’t have become a world champion here. That failure taught me a lot,” Lovlina said.
Stardom doesn’t attract the three-time world championship medallist, who has had a closer view of the highs and lows of her career in the recent couple of years, and instead prefers to maintain a low profile and focus on her ultimate goal of becoming an Olympic champion in Paris, next year.
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“I don’t consider myself a star. I am the same person I used to be earlier. I always try to maintain a low profile, and instead try to focus on the job at hand. And the outcome is just a reflection of how dedicated you are in that job,” Lovlina said.
“The day I started boxing, my target was to win an Olympic medal. I achieved my first milestone in Tokyo. Now the dream is to become an Olympic champion and becoming a world champion is the first step in that direction,” Lovlina added while indicating her aims of sealing her Olympic berth at the Hangzhou Asian Games, the first qualification event for Paris 2024.
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