Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) advanced to the quarter-finals after she defeated the German veteran Nadine Apetz 3-2 in the round-16.
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Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) advanced to the quarter-finals in her debut Olympic appearance. She defeated the German veteran Nadine Apetz in the round-16 after an intense bout at the Kokugikan Arena on Tuesday.
Borgohain was the lone Indian boxer in action for the day. She won 3-2 over her German rival who is 12 years senior to her. However, both the boxers were making their Games debut. The Indian became the first athlete to make the quarterfinal stage.
Onwards! ??
Power packed punching from Lovlina Borgohain lands her a last eight slot as she wins 3-2 against Nadine Apetz of #GER in the women’s 69kg welterweight category! ? #IND #Tokyo2020 | #StrongerTogether | #UnitedByEmotion | @LovlinaBorgohai pic.twitter.com/Y9rserNmyR
— #Tokyo2020 for India (@Tokyo2020hi) July 27, 2021
The 23-year-old showed great composure in the tensely fought contest. She triumphed by the thinnest of margins, claiming all the three rounds on split points. The 35-year-old Apetz was the first German woman to qualify for a boxing event at the Olympics and also a two-time world championship bronze-medallist and a former European champion. Borgohain is a two-time World and Asian championships bronze-medallist.
The youngster from Assam was the aggressor in the opening round before she changed strategy to play the waiting game. The strategy worked out just fine despite the German’s well-placed jabs often troubling the Indian. Borgohain relied mostly on her left hooks to keep the slender edge.
She is the first woman from the state to qualify for the Olympics. Lovlina had earlier won bronze medal at the 2018 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships and the 2019 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. She won gold medal at 1st India Open International Boxing Tournament held in New Delhi and silver medal at 2nd India Open International Boxing Tournament held in Guwahati.
Meanwhile, Apetz is a pioneering name in German boxing. She is pursuing a PhD in neuroscience, which she put on hold for a year to prepare for the Olympics.
Next up Borgohain will face Chinese Taipei’s Chen Nien-Chin on 30th July for her quarterfinal clash.
