Any sporting achievement is less about the match that won them the medal and more about the journey that shaped a champion. For Lovlina Borgohain, the journey to become an Olympic champion has been far from easy. Her father Tiken Borgohain was a small-scale businessman who struggled to financially support his daughter’s dream, but her prodigious skill was enough to get the attention of Coach Padum Chandra Bodo who taught her the basics of boxing. From there on, there was no looking back.

In the village of Bara Murkhia, the villagers have always faced the challenge of moving in and out of the area, as rainwater would often collect on the path and restrict movements. A young Lovlina Borgohain often crossed the murky mud water on her way to training, a schedule that was often dictated by the weather and rainfall. Despite the obstacles, the now 23 year old is renowned across the world for her boxing prowess, which in turn has transformed her sleepy village into a bustling hive of activity after the government “gifted” her a road built on the muddy track to breathe new life into the place she calls home.

For a girl who was ostracised due to her gender and her parents were accused of having ‘sinned’ which is why they gave birth to a girl, Lovlina has done more for her village than all the others combined. Her parents have been a rock solid support system despite Lovlina’s struggles of adapting to self dependency at an early age. However, these experiences shaped her into the champion we know today who is an inspiration of perseverance to everyone.

Lovlina was brought onto the boxing map in emphatic fashion, she won a gold medal at the inaugural India Open which led to her selection at the  2018 Commonwealth Games welterweight boxing category. She also won a silver medal at the Ulaanbaatar Cup in Mongolia but most importantly, Borgohain won the Arjuna Award presented by President Ram Nath Kovind for her outstanding performance in boxing and is the first female and second boxer from Assam to represent India at the Olympic Games.

It’s said that the Olympic stage is the biggest and toughest of them all, far above any other sporting competition an athlete faces. The competition is fierce, but the glory is timeless and athletes are willing to sacrifice blood, sweat and tears to have their names etched in history books, which is an indication of Lovlina Borgohain’s achievement. She defeated Nadine Apetz of Germany in the primary rounds and Taiwan’s Chen Nien-chin to ensure a medal at the Tokyo Olympics. However, she fell short to World Number 1 Busenaz Surmeneli of Turkey but the 23 year old has plenty of opportunities to go all the way in Paris and beyond.

While many media outlets claimed that Lovlina Borgohain had “settled” for a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, it seemed quite disrespectful to her fantastic achievement. Winning a bronze is by no means a compromise, especially at a stage such as the Olympics and it takes decades of hard work, perseverance, sacrifices and talent to win a medal at the biggest stage of them all. Her victory is an inspiration to all the girls that dreams come true as long as you put the work in and to always aim higher.

Also read: Disappointed I didn't get gold but will celebrate Olympic bronze with vacation: Lovlina Borgohain