Lovlina Borgohain gives herself perfect birthday gift with maiden Asian Games boxing gold

Lovlina Borgohain has ended a 12-year wait for India in women's boxing at Asian Games as she won the gold medal in the women's 75 kg category. Lovlina defeated China's Ziyi Bao by unanimous decision to replicate the feat of the legendary Mary Kom at the games.

In Short

• Lovlina won the bout 5-0 via unanimous decision
• The Indian boxer turned 29 on October 2nd
• Lovlina secured her second major medal in 2026 after CWG silver

Lovlina Borgohain has given herself the perfect gift on her 29th birthday as she won the boxing gold in the women's 75 kg category with a resounding performance at the Asian Games. Lovlina defeated China's Ziyi Bao via unanimous decision to win the match. With the victory, Lovlina became the first women's boxer since Mary Kom in 2014 to secure a gold medal at the Asian Games.

The 29-year-old had come into the gold medal match having created history as the first Indian woman to reach back-to-back Asian Games finals. After having won silver at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last time around, the Indian star was determined to change the colour of the medal and was off the blocks from the get-go.

HOW THE FIGHT UNFOLDED

Lovlina had the height and reach advantage over Bao and it was the Indian who started the fight in the positive manner. She got a few hits on the face before going for the clinch. Bao was coming into the contest with a perfect amateur boxing record and on a 14-fight winning run and she slowly made her way back into the contest with a few heavy blows to the body.

She then was able to get more closer to Lovlina and started landing more punches, forcing the Indian star into the defensive. It seemed like she had done enough as three out of the five judges went in favour of the Indian as she won the first round 3-2.

Bao started the second round more aggressively as she continued to weave in the punches. Lovlina was using the jabs and hooks more than the uppercut, allowing Bao to come forward more.

The Chinese boxer was able to land a jab that had Lovlina on the ropes and she decided to go for the clinch once again. Lovlina was able to get a few punches in towards the end and that impressed the judges. They scored the round 4-1 in favour of Lovlina.

The final round was all about control from Lovlina as she was happy to defend. This made Bao become more desperate and go in for stronger strikes. This meant that the Indian boxer needed to just remain on the defensive throughout the three minutes.

The result seemed like a mere formality when it was being read out as the Indian contingent cheered in ecstasy as Lovlina celebrated with her corner.

LOVLINA COMPLETES HER REDEMPTION

Lovlina was coming into the Asian Games with a point to prove. As the Indian contingent delivered multiple gold medals, Lovlina was forced to settle for a silver medal after her loss to Australia’s Emma-Sue Greentree.

Instead of going into a shell, the Indian boxer decided to go back to board and learn what she needed to do inorder to avoid the small mistakes.

“I have taken the positives from Glasgow, studied what I could have done better and now I want to work on those areas in training. The Asian Games will be another big challenge, and my focus is on being more complete and consistent in the ring," Lovlina told India Today ahead of the Asian Games.

The Indian boxer surely was consistent with her approach in the ring as she was able to edge past her opponent in the final with a sensational performance.

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