Lovlina receives warm welcome in Assam; to be felicitated today
(Sourced from PTI)
Olympic bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain arrived in Guwahati on Thursday to a warm welcome as Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma received her at the airport. Borgohain, who clinched the welterweight (69kg) bronze, is scheduled to be felicitated by the state government in the afternoon. Sarma was accompanied by the Assam Sports Minister Bimal Borah.
As she glided down the steps of the aircraft, Sarma patted Borgohain on the back, before presenting her with the traditional Assamese gamosa (hand towel), japi (headgear), and a bouquet.
"With pride and glory, I welcomed our star Olympian medalist Lovlina Borgohain at Guwahati airport. Lovlina has ignited a billion dreams with her success at the Tokyo Olympics, and set an example for budding sports talents in rural areas to aspire to achieve big on the world stage," Sarma said. Notably, Borgohain is also slated to meet Governor Jagadish Mukhi in the evening.
After meeting Sarma, Borgohain boarded a bus, customized with huge cut-outs of her, and headed to a city hotel where she will rest before being felicitated by the Assam government at the Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra later in the day. In the evening, she will return to Delhi to attend the Independence Day event where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet Olympic medalists.
The 23-year-old boxer hails from village Baromukhiya in the Golaghat area of Assam. She became only the third Indian boxer to finish on the Olympic podium, joining two of the biggest icons in Indian boxing—six-time world champion MC Mary Kom and the very-decorated Vijender Singh.
Notably, on July 30, she defeated Chinese Taipei's Nien-Chin Chen in the women's welterweight quarter-finals. Borgohain had prevailed 4-1 to make the last four. However, she lost the semis of the women's flyweight category at the Tokyo Olympics. She was beaten by the world champion Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey.
