Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 2 : Boxing Federation of India (BFI) President Ajay Singh hailed Lovlina Borgohain as a "huge role model" for girls across the country after the boxer won the women's 75kg boxing gold at the Asian Games here on Friday.
Lovlina marked her 29th birthday in memorable fashion as she defeated China's Bao Ziyi 5-0 in the final to claim her maiden Asian Games gold medal.
"Well, a moment of great, great pride for all of us. She boxed wonderfully well and after all the criticism that she faced in the Commonwealth Games, to come back so strongly shows her great resolve, her mental strength and her physical strength. She's made us all very proud today and has become a massive, huge role model for girls in the entire country," Ajay Singh told ANI.
Lovlina had endured a difficult period following her silver medal-winning campaign at the 2026 Commonwealth Games but returned strongly in Aichi-Nagoya to add an Asian Games gold to her growing list of achievements.
Singh also described Lovlina's triumph as the best birthday gift she could have given herself, while highlighting the mental and physical challenges she had overcome.
"This is the best birthday gift that she could have given herself and given to all of us. And so proud of her. She went through a very difficult period physically, mentally. She took time off and she's come back so strongly. It's something that boxers and sportspersons need to see what mental resolve and what training and preparation can do," said BFI President.
In the final, Lovlina effectively countered Bao's aggressive approach. She edged the opening round 3-2 before taking the second 4-1 to establish a 2-0 lead on the judges' scorecards. The Indian maintained her composure in the third round and was awarded it unanimously to complete a 5-0 victory.
The gold capped a strong campaign for Lovlina, who had earlier defeated Kazakhstan's Natalya Bogdanova 3-2 in the semifinal. The victory made her the first Indian woman boxer to reach consecutive Asian Games finals.
Lovlina, who hails from Assam's Golaghat district, had won silver in the women's 75kg category at the Hangzhou Asian Games. She is also a Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist and the 2023 world champion in the 75kg category.
She had also won gold at the 2022 Asian Championships and silver at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Her achievements have earned her the Arjuna Award in 2020 and the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021.
India have two more boxing gold-medal bouts scheduled later on Friday, with Ankush Panghal facing Kim Minseong in the men's 80kg final and Parveen Hooda taking on Chinese Taipei's Chen Nien-chin in the women's 65kg final.
Speaking about India's chances in the remaining finals, Singh said, "We have two more finals. We have a reasonable chance. Actually, our toughest bout today was Lavlina's bout. So, we hope that at least one of those two will be converted to a gold."
Lovlina's gold also took India's medal tally at the Aichi-Nagoya Games to 70, including 12 gold, 24 silver and 34 bronze medals, at the time of writing.