Olympic bronze medallist boxer Lovlina Borgohain has shrugged off the pressure and expressed confidence that her move to a higher weight category will help her break the jinx of not bagging a gold in major international tournaments when the Women`s World Championships kicks off later this month.
Borgohain, who boasts of two World Championships bronze and a third place at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 69kg event, will compete in the 75kg category at the tournament scheduled to commence on March 15. Besides Lovlina, India`s ace boxer Nikhat Zareen will be the cynosure of all eyes throughout the tournament.
The 25-year-old Lovlina was placed third in both the 2018 and 2019 Women`s World Championships and walked away with another bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, prompting many to think if the talented athlete was giving it her best shot at major tournaments. But Lovlina stayed firm in her quest, saying she always enters the ring with the single-minded commitment to give it her “100 per cent”.
“Yes, that (not winning gold) is at the back of my mind. But I am desperate to change the colour of the medal this time around. The effort is always to play for gold medal and this time too it is no different. The preparations are going well (in Patiala) and I hope I can break that jinx on home turf,” said Lovlina.
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On asked whether she felt added pressure to be a part of the same squad that also has reigning world champion Zareen, she said, “I am not thinking in terms of whether the pressure is more or less on me (With Nikhat being a world champion). We have accepted we have to live with pressure; it is always there in competition. My focus is only on how well I can perform and concentrate on the task at hand. And that also means, not to take the added pressure of thinking about the result,” she added. “At the end of the day what matters is our work ethic. The Gita also says work hard and do not bother about the result. I am a great believer in that.”
The talented pugilist from Assam revealed she felt more confident in the 75kg weight category as she has little to bother about gaining weight.
“I am more comfortable in this (75kg) weight category. There is no tension to control my weight. Yes, I have also changed my technique a bit to go with the higher weight category. The focus is on improving the power in my punches as my opponents will be much stronger than what I encountered in the 69kg category,” she said.
(With PTI inputs)
