Following her 4-1 split decision victory over China’s Li Qian in the 75 kg semifinals in New Delhi on Thursday, Lovlina Borgohain will compete for a gold medal at a World Championships for the first time in her career. Li Qian is a middleweight giant who has won Olympic medals at the 2016 Rio Games and the 2021 Tokyo Games.
“At the Worlds, I took home two bronze medals, and I was unable to do better at the Olympics.” After her battle, Lovlina admitted, “I started to believe that it might have been psychological,” underscoring how difficult it was for her to get past this obstacle.
"MAHINDRA MOMENTS" from Lovlina & Saweety 's semi-finals bout 📸🇮🇳
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With the help of a loud crowd, Lovlina was able to win the most difficult match of her career at this point.The judges’ scorecard revealed the outcome of the fight: the Indian won the first round 3-2, while the Chinese won the second round 3-2. The third round was what really made the story, though.
Lovlina has endured challenging third rounds the entire time of these World Championships. The six-kilogram weight increase and fatigue control throughout vital intervals of bouts were major problems. By giving it her all in the first two rounds, where she would completely deplete her tank, and then pleading for survival in the third, she had huffed and puffed her way into the semi-finals.
“The idea was to perplex her. In terms of my approach against Qian, there were times when I attacked and times when I chose to counter. The Assamese fighter was worn down in the second round as the Chinese boxer read through the strategy, used the clinch, and put a lot of her body weight on her.
Lovlina had a few options on Thursday after losing the second round. It would have been acceptable to concede defeat in this match and accept bronze against Qian, a behemoth in her weight division who has won numerous medals in Asia, the rest of the world, and the Olympics. She might also go for the gold medal match and unleash everything she has on the Chinese. A second choice was made.
The final round will be the deciding one, the coaches informed me. The work I put in will determine the outcome, not the outcome itself, the Indian stated following the fight.
The deceitful jab she used from her left in the third was a critical strike for her. Lovlina would bring her left hand down and keep making fake moves with her right hand to get ready for a jab.Even though the left arm of the cross didn’t show up, it flew up and landed on Qian’s face.Even though Lovlina’s Chinese opponent grabbed her and put her whole body weight on her in the third round, the judges decided to give the round to the Indian because she had cleaner hits.
Additionally, luck played a role. In the middle of that round, Qian’s helmet came off. She would be sent to her corner to make repairs by the referee. Given how difficult it was for her, it gave Lovlina some time to collect herself and some breathing room. It was ultimately close, but not close enough for her to win 4-1 and advance to her first World Championship final.
In the World Championships final, Lovlina will compete against Caitlin Parker, who won the silver medal at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.