Pugilist Lovlina Borgohain on Friday said she is very happy to take revenge against Nien-Chin Chen as the latter had defeated her four times before the Tokyo Olympics' quarter-final bout. Lovlina (69kg) has assured India a bronze after storming into the semi-finals of the women's welterweight (64-69kg) category.
"I had lost four times against my opponent earlier, I wanted to prove myself and I needed it to prove it to myself. I wanted to take the revenge of losing four times against her. I had no set strategy, I just went in with instinct. I am feeling very happy, I played to my potential," said Lovlina in a virtual press conference organised by Boxing Federation of India (BFI).
"Every boxer is different, no two boxers can be same. I follow the footwork of Muhammad Ali, and I also follow his long punch. I see his videos before going for my bouts. Mary Kom is also an inspiration, have heard about her name since I came into boxing. I have seen what she has been through, I have learnt a lot from her. It feels very good that she is here alongside us," she added.
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.
"Muay Thai (martial art form) has helped me when I started boxing, when I played nationals, I hadn't learnt boxing so whatever I achieved there was because of Muay Thai. I am not thinking much, I am not settled with bronze medal, I want to go for gold. I have to plan for the semifinals now, there is just one medal and that is gold," said Lovlina.
"I was not fearless when I started out, I did use to take pressure and I used to be a bit scared. Over time, I have developed confidence in my abilities, whatever people tell me, I am not bothered by that and now I am fearless," she added.
Talking about her testing positive for COVID-19, Lovlina said: "I missed the Italy tour, and I had missed one competition because I tested positive for COVID-19."
( With inputs from ANI )
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