India’s boxing campaign at the ongoing Olympics concluded without a medal after Lovlina Borgohain, the reigning world champion in the 75kg category, lost a hard-fought quarterfinal bout to China’s Li Qian on Sunday.
Borgohain, who won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, went down 1-4 in a messy contest marred by repeated cautions for clinching and holding. The 26-year-old’s defeat marked the end of India’s boxing campaign in the Games, following Nishant Dev’s exit from the men’s 71kg quarterfinals on Saturday night.
The six-strong boxing contingent, comprising four women and two men, had a disappointing outing in Tokyo. Four of the six boxers crashed out in the preliminary stage itself.
The quarterfinal bout between Borgohain and Qian started at a fast pace, but neither boxer was willing to take the initiative. The holding and clinching began early, forcing the referee to intervene repeatedly.
Qian, the 34-year-old Tokyo Games silver medalist, seemed more determined and landed some clean combination punches and a left hook towards the end of the first round. She took a 3-2 lead in the contest.
The second round followed a similar pattern, with Qian being more purposeful in her approach. Borgohain was cautioned twice for excessive holding, and Qian maintained her slender one-point lead.
The holding and clinching continued in the third round, and both boxers appeared drained. However, Qian showed great presence of mind to keep Borgohain at a distance. Borgohain struggled to control the pace of the bout and repeatedly took hits on counter-attacks.
Borgohain had previously faced Qian in the Asian Games final last year, losing 0-5. She later beat Qian in the semifinals of the world championship semifinal in 2023. However, Qian had the upper hand in a pre-Olympic tournament in Czechia in June.
