India boxer Manoj Kumar has congratulated fellow pugilist Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) after she assured India a bronze by storming into the semi-finals of the women's welterweight (69-75kg) category at the Tokyo Olympics.
"Today is a very happy day for India and a very proud moment for the boxing family as Lovlina assured India a medal. Our wishes are with her and we are hoping that she will qualify in the final and will win the gold for the country," Manoj Kumar told ANI.
"I will urge the people of our country to cheer for athletes through social media and I hope that our players will pass the 6 medals mark set by our contingent in the 2012 London Olympics. We will win 8-10 medals after these first two medals," he 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.
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.
( With inputs from ANI )
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