Before Friday, only London Olympics bronze medallist Mary Kom had won an Asian Games gold medal among Indian women boxers. Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain joined her after beating Ziyi 5-0 in the women’s 75kg final on Friday morning. The title came on her birthday after a tough campaign in an eight-boxer draw: the Assamese boxer began with a 5-0 win over Seong Su-yeon of Korea in the quarter-finals, followed by a 3-2 split-decision win over reigning 70kg world champion Natalya Bogdanova of Kazakhstan before beating Ziyi 5-0 in the final.

“I have been boxing for the last 15 years, and the target is to always finish on the podium. But to hear the national anthem is always special. Yes, there were some hard times as I could not win a gold medal. After the Tokyo Olympics, there have been ups and downs, but then this year my target was to change the colour of the Asian Games medal. I went with the mindset that I have nothing to lose and have to win,” Lovlina told the broadcasters after her win.

In the semifinal against Bogdanova, Lovlina lost two rounds but won the second round 5-0, securing a 3-2 split-decision victory over the Kazakh. Friday’s final also saw a close opening round against the Chinese. Lovlina won the first round 3-2 before taking the second 4-1 to lead 2-0 in the bout. She won the final round 4-1 to seal the final with a unanimous 5-0 decision.

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“We knew that the Chinese would come hard and would aim for stronger punches. The key for Lovlina was to work on her punches from the distance, which she is good at, and avoid getting hit too hard by a boxer like Ziyi. She manages clear punches like her left jab and straight right when she is in control and she displayed that in the second round. When the Chinese would come strong, Lovlina also used her side-step left hook to her advantage. I don’t like when Lovlina falls in, and that’s what happened in the last few seconds of the third round as things got a little messier. But she had done enough to win,” said Indian women’s boxing head coach Santiago Nieva while speaking with .

Over the last few years, Lovlina has won the Asian title in 2022, apart from her silver at the Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2023 World title in the 75kg division. In 2024, she lost in the quarter-finals to Chinese boxer Li Qian at the Paris Olympics, while this year she lost the CWG final to reigning world bronze medallist Emma-Sue Greentree of Australia. With the World Championships next year offering LA Olympics quota places, Nieva knows Lovlina has her task cut out.

“She says she has had her ups and downs, but she has been one of the consistent boxers in terms of world medals as well as this gold. Competition at the Asian Games too is tough, with some hard hitters. She has already won the world title once, and the key now is to control the bout from the start and not let the bout get messy. She is the better boxer when she lands clean punches. Overall, it was a strong performance for Lovlina, and the next target is the Worlds and the Olympics quota,” said Nieva.