File photo of Lovlina Borgohain.© AFP
Following Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain's victory over Norway's Sunniva Hofstad, her father, Tiken Borgohain, expressed confidence in his daughter's performance in the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024. Lovlina defeated Hofstad 5-0 in the women's 75 kg round of 16 bouts on Wednesday. Borgohain, a bronze medalist in the 69 kg category at Tokyo 2020, is seeded eighth in her first 75 kg Olympic tournament. "It was a good fight. She won her first bout 5-0. I think she should try harder. The next round will be even tougher," Tiken Borgohain told ANI.
"I don't think it's good to look too far ahead. She will try her best and give 100% in the Olympics. If she plays well, she will definitely achieve good results," Tiken added.
Making her Summer Games debut, the 20-year-old Hofstad adopted an aggressive approach in the first two rounds. However, Lovlina was resolute in defence, smothering her opponent's punches while countering with precision, according to Olympics.com.
The Norwegian boxer improved in the third round, but it wasn't enough to outscore the reigning Asian Games silver medalist. With this win, Borgohain advanced to the quarterfinals.
Borgohain will face Li Qian of the People's Republic of China, who defeated her for the Asian Games gold in Hangzhou last year.
The Lovlina Borgohain vs. Li Qian women's 75kg quarterfinal is scheduled for Sunday, August 4, at 3:02 PM IST.
On Tuesday, India faced setbacks in boxing in both men's and women's events. The Philippines' Nesthy Petecio knocked out Indian boxer Jasmine Lamboria in the women's 57 kg round of 32 match.
Like Preeti, Jasmine struggled from the start, trailing at the end of the first round, with four out of five judges awarding ten points to the Philippine boxer.
In the second round, Petecio continued to dominate, appearing at ease throughout, and all five judges awarded her ten points.
In the third and final round, Jasmine needed a remarkable comeback to turn the bout in her favour. However, the comeback never materialised, and she lost the match 0-5 on points. Amit Panghal also exited the Paris Olympics following a loss in the round of 16 in the men's 51 kg category.
Amit lost to Zambia's Patrick Chinyemba by 1-4. In the initial rounds, Amit was highly aggressive, and both boxers traded punches. But in the third round, judges ruled entirely in favour of the Zambian boxer, who won by a split decision of 1-4.
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