Paris, July 31: Tokyo 2020 medallist Lovlina Borgohain made an emphatic start to her Paris 2024 campaign with a unanimous 5-0 victory against Norway’s debutant Sunniva Hofstad in the women’s 75kg Round of 16 bout in the boxing competition here on Wednesday.
Despite Sunniva’s attempt to get off to an aggressive start, Borgohain carefully established her dominance in the game with some great defense after not facing much of a challenge. Sunniva is the Junior World Champion in this weight class and one of the upcoming stars in the sport.
But on Wednesday, Lovlina did not give her any chance to impose her game. Despite Sunnia’s attempt, the Indian managed to outscore the Norwegian in all five rounds, Lovlina will next face Li Qian of the People’s Republic of China in the quarterfinals on Sunday and will hope to exact revenge for her defeat in the final of the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou last year.
A win will also guarantee Lovlina a second medal in the Olympics, adding to the bronze she won in Tokyo. If she wins a medal in Paris, Lovlina will become just the fourth Indian to win two medals in the Olympics in individual events after Sushil Kumar, PV Sindhu, and Manu Bhaker. Lovlina’s victory was a much-needed boost to the Indian boxing squad in Paris as Amit Panghal, Preeti Pawar and Jaismine Lamboria were eliminated from the Games after defeats in their respective categories on Tuesday.
Two-time World Champion Nikhat Zareen will take on top-seeded Chinese and Asian Games champion Wu Yu in the Round of 16 of the women’s 50 kg category on Thursday. In the men’s section, Nishant Dev will take on Colombia’s Jose Gabriel Rodriguez Tenorio in a Round of 16 clash in the men’s 71 kg category.
IANS a