Lovlina Borgohain said her superb performance against former world champion Nien-Chin Chen of Chinese Taipei in the Tokyo Olympics quarterfinals was a result of her fearless approach.
Lovlina, who ensured India’s second medal by reaching the women’s 69kg semifinals on Friday, said she developed the fearless attitude with the passage of time.
“When I began, I was not fearless. But when I gained confidence in my abilities I did not care about what people were saying and started performing better,” Lovlina said at a virtual press conference.
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Lovlina, a Muhammad Ali fan, said she tried to pick up some aspects of Ali’s game. “I see his videos. I saw his video before this bout. No two boxers can be the same. I follow his footwork and long (distance) punches.
“Mary Kom is an inspiration too. I have seen her train hard. I have learnt a lot from her. It’s great to have her with us.”
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The lanky boxer said working with strength and conditioning coach Amey Kolekar was beneficial. “While training with Amey sir, I made a lot of changes in my training. Sports science helped me in working on my strength. It was always a problem area for me. Working with him improved my game.”
The Assamese boxer had an interesting point to share about her experience of meditating. “I started doing meditation in 2017 and it helped me in my fight. But in the last four months I did not focus on meditation as we experience a lot of shouting in boxing. I felt a cool mind does not help a lot.
“I started thinking that no matter whatever the situation was, I would give my best. I want to win even if I am fighting with a broken hand,” said the 23-year-old.
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