New Delhi: Lovlina Borgohain was in trouble after losing the first-round card against Kazakhstan’s Natalya Bogdanova in the boxing middleweight (75kg) semifinal at the Asian Games. Bogdanova, the 70kg world champion, was scoring with her stinging jab. Lovlina, however, made a gritty comeback in the next two rounds, producing a fine display of counter-attacking boxing to storm into the final.
“It’s my first Asian Games and winning a bronze medal for India is satisfying. Lovlina, 28, will face China’s Ziyi Bao and will be aiming to improve on the silver medal she won at the last edition of the Games.
Next time I hope to win a gold medal,” Priya said.
The men’s team showing is much better than at 2023 Hangzhou Games, where they had only Narender Berwal’s bronze to show. Women’s team coach Santiago Nieva had his eyes set on a gold medal from the ring, which was missing from the previous campaign. He will have two opportunities to achieve that target. In Aichi-Nagoya, it is bronze for Narender and Kapil while Ankush is in the final.
