GUWAHATI, August 12: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday showered praise on Olympian boxer Lovlina Borgohain, saying that “she has ended a long 125-year-old wait to become the first Assamese to bag a medal at the Tokyo Olympics.”
“Lovlina has said that she would aim for a gold medal in Paris…. We pray to God that she reaches greater heights… But she has already achieved what Assam had never achieved in the past…for which the 3.30 crore people of Assam will remember her for ages and cherish her feat…she is a role model for many youths aspiring to make it big in sports,” Sarma said during the ceremonial felicitation at the Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra on Thursday afternoon.
The chief minister paid a tribute to Arjuna awardee, Bhogeswar Barua, who was present at the programme, and also recalled the contributions of footballer Talimeren Ao, Olympians Shiva Thapa, Deepankar Bhattacharya, Jayanta Talukdar and also sprinter Hima Das for bringing fame to Assam.
As a fitting reward for her Olympic glory, Sarma invited her to join Assam Police in the post of deputy superintendent of police (DSP), a post which was earlier also given to Hima Das.
Presenting her a cheque for Rs one crore for bagging bronze at Tokyo, Sarma also announced that the Assam government would provide Rs one lakh per month till the Paris Olympic Games to enable her to smoothly train and prepare for further glory inside the boxing ring.
“The state government would spend Rs 25 crore and build a sports complex in her name at Sarupathar (her home constituency) in Golaghat district. The site of the complex will be determined by Sarupathar MLA Biswajit Phukan and Lovlina’s father, Tiken Borgohain. Besides, a street in Guwahati will also be named after Lovlina,” the chief minister announced.
Sarma also announced that four of her coaches, including Padum Boro and Sandhya Gurung would be presented Rs 10 lakh each for their role in training and shaping Lovlina over the years and helping her become a world class boxer.
