Dispur (Assam): Although 23-year-old pugilist, Lovelina Borgohain(লাভলীনা বৰগোঁহায়ে) lost to her Turkish competitor Busenaz Surmeneli during the ongoing Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday she not only made the country proud but also scripted history for Assam and became the first one from the state to bring an Olympic medal. The ongoing budget session of the Assam legislative assembly was also adjourned for 30 minutes to ensure that everyone in the assembly can not only watch the semi-final match but also cheer for the ace boxer. A native of Borpathar in the remote Golaghat district of Assam, Lovlina is also the first Assamese woman boxer and the second Assamese boxer after Shiva Thapa to represent India at the Olympics.
She won the bronze medal at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in 2018 and went on to secure a place in the Indian Olympic team after defeating Maftunakhon Melieva of Uzbekistan 5-0 at the Asia & Oceania Boxing Olympic Tournament in 2020. On July 30, Lovlina secured India's first boxing medal at the Tokyo Olympics when she advanced to the semifinals by defeating former world champion Nien-Chin Chen of Chinese Taipei. Besides securing bronze for the country, Lovlina also became the third Indian boxer to have ensured podium finish at the Olympics after Vijender Singh (2008) and MC Mary Kom (2012).
READ: Tokyo Olympics: Vinesh Phogat loses to Belarus's Vanesa in women's 53kg quarterfinal
Assam's tryst with Olympics
Talimeren Ao
Talimeren Ao popularly known as T Ao is the first player from undivided Assam who led the country to the 1948 London Olympics. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Ao was the first captain of independent India’s first football team that fought against the mighty footballing giant France then. Born in 1918 in Naga Hills of then undivided Assam, Ao was also the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent to the Olympics in 1984. Although the Indian team got a walkover in the first match against Burma, the Indian team lost to France by 2–1.
Dipankar Bhattacharjee
Born in Guwahati on 1 February 1972, Dipankar Bhattacharjee was India’s flag bearer in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where he lost 4-15, 12-15 in the pre-quarters against then world No. 1 Zhao Jianhua of China. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Bhattacharjee became the first Indian male badminton player to represent the country in two consecutive Olympics. However, he lost to Hariyanto Arbi of Indonesia in the preliminary stage.
Jayanta Talukdar
Regarded as one of the most talented archers of India, Jayanta Talukdar represented India at the 2012 London Olympics in both individual and team events. Talukdar, who won silver in the 2004 Junior World Championships also won individual gold at the Archery World Cup. Following this, he bagged another gold medal at the FITA Meteksan World Cup, 2006, becoming the first Indian archer to win the top medal at the event. An Arjuna Awardee, Talukdar won another gold medal at the South Asian Games and a bronze medal in the team competition at the 2006 Asian Games.
Shiva Thapa
Guwahati boy, Shiva Thapa is one of the most well-known pugilists of Assam, having carved for himself a name at several national and international sporting events. Shiva represented India for the first time at the 2012 London Olympics, becoming the youngest Indian boxer to do so in the process. To qualify for the event, he won gold at Asian Olympic Qualifier, 2012 held in Kazakhstan. In July 2013, Shiva became the youngest Indian to win a gold at the Asian Confederation Boxing Championship at Amman, Jordan in the bantamweight category. He also represented India at the 2016 Rio Olympics but lost to Robeisy Ramírez of Cuba.
