Debutant Lovlina Borgohain enters quarter finals of Olympic boxing

Tokyo, July 27: Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) advanced to the quarterfinals in her debut Olympic appearance, defeating German veteran Nadine Apetz in a closely-fought last-16 stage bout here on Tuesday.

 

 

Borgohain, the lone Indian boxer in action on the day, prevailed 3-2 over her rival who is 12 years her senior. Both the boxers were making their Games debut and the Indian became the first from her nine-strong team to make the quarterfinal stage.

 

 

The 35-year-old Apetz was the first German woman to qualify for a boxing event at the Olympics. She is a two-time world championship bronze-medallist, a former European champion and is pursuing a PhD in neuroscience.

 

 

Borgohain is a two-time World and Asian championships bronze-medallist. On July 30, Borgohain will face Chinese Taipei’s Nien-Chin Chen, who is seeded fourth and a former world champion. The Indian had lost to her in the 2018 world championship semifinal in a 1-4 verdict. A win in the upcoming contest would assure Borgohain of at least a bronze medal at the mega-event.