Lovlina keen to add more power to her punches in the lead-up to the Asian Games

The boxer feels that the gold in the 75kg category at the National Games will hold her in good stead in future international events

Take that! Lovlina Borgohain of Assam (Red) during her gold medal winning bout against Sweety of Haryana in the middle weight category of women’s boxing during the 36th National Games at Gandhinagar in Gujarat on October 12, 2022. | Photo Credit: V.V. Krishnan

Having secured the National Games gold as her first medal in the 75kg, Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain is keen to add power to her punches in the run-up to the Asian Games next year.

Lovlina, who came out of a nose injury she picked up last month to compete in the National Games here, felt that the gold here was a good build-up for the Asian championships.

“This performance (in my first competition in 75kg) will boost my preparation for the Asian championships. The competition level was good here, so that will help. The feeling was good in the final but I was not happy about the earlier fights. I need to train more and focus on my performance,” Lovlina told The Hindu.

“Generally the Asian championships is a tough event, but I will try my best to perform well.”

Lovlina Borgohain of Assam (Red) during her gold medal winning bout against Sweety of Haryana in the middle weight category of women’s boxing during the 36th National Games at Gandhinagar in Gujarat on October 12, 2022. | Photo Credit: V.V. Krishnan

The tall boxer said she needed to work on gaining more power. “The most important thing is to increase my weight. When you jump to a higher weight, you need to work on your strength. Normally my body weight remains between 72kg and 73kg.

“If it becomes 75kg, then it will become easier to compete. I need to change my diet and training to fit well into the new weight category. I need to do some exercises to build muscles.

“Every session and every day is important as you face one competition after another. Since there is not much time left for the Asian championships, I think I can improve (my power) by the Asian Games (which will be an Olympic qualifying event).”

Lovlina Borgohain of Assam, who won against Indraja K.A. of Kerala, during the quarterfinals of the women’s 75 kg middle weight category in the boxing arena of the 36th National Games at Gandhinagar on October 9, 2022. | Photo Credit: V.V. Krishnan

Lovlina said she would need to compete more. “The 75kg is an old weight category. There are a lot of good boxers who are already there in this weight. I have to take part in different competitions. I need to compete more to improve my ranking as the Olympic qualifier is different this time.

“Every competition is important. I have just come into this weight. Let’s see how it goes and then I will decide how many events I need to play,” said Lovlina.