Tokyo Olympics: Bronze assured for India as Lovlina Borgohain storms into semis

Lovlina Borgohain. Pic/AFP

Boxer Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) assured India a bronze after storming into the semi-finals of the women's welterweight (69-75kg) category in the Tokyo Olympics after defeating Chinese Taipei's Nien-Chin Chen in the quarterfinals here at the Kokugikan Arena on Friday.

Borgohain defeated Nien-Chin Chen by a split decision of 4-1. Five judges gave split decisions in the first round but following two rounds, all judges anonymously stamped Lovlina's dominance. The Indian pugilist very narrowly took Round 1 (3-2) and this created pressure on her Taipei opponent. Lovlina maintained her charge in Round 2, and she smartly defended Nien-Chin's punches with her excellent footwork.

The 23-year-old did not relent and maintained her rhythm in third as she assured India its third medal in boxing at Olympics. She also became just the second woman after Indian legend MC Mary Kom -- bronze in the 2012 London Olympics -- to qualify for a medal round.

Earlier in the day, Simranjit Kaur bowed out of the ongoing Tokyo Olympics after Thailand's Sudaporn Seesondee defeated her in women's lightweight (57-60kg) 5-0 here at Kokugikan Arena. Seesondee advanced to the quarterfinals after this victory against Simranjit in the lightweight category. All five judges gave the unanimous decision in favor of Thailand's boxer as she thrashed the Indian in three rounds.

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