Asian Games 2023: Lovlina Borgohain qualifies for Paris Olympics by reaching gold medal match

World champion Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) locked an Olympic quota for herself by moving to the final at the Asian Games 2023 on Tuesday. Borgohain, the Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist, cleverly managed her bout against Asian Championship silver medallist Baison Maneekon of Thailand to take a unanimous decision win and book her ticket for next year’s Paris Games

Asian Games 2023: Day 10 LIVE Updates

Meanwhile, Indian boxer Preeti Pawar (54kg) signed off with a bronze medal. Preeti put up a good show but lost 0-5 to reigning flyweight champion China’s Chang Yuan. She has already secured an Olympic quota.

Both Southpaw boxers showcased their high skill and ring IQs in the opening three minutes. While Preeti looked to poke and peck with a right hook, the Chinese kept landing right hooks.

At one point, the 19-year-old Indian landed a double jab, followed by two right hooks and two body shots to score crucial points. But Chang replied aggressively with a right cross and a flurry of jabs.

The Chinese boxer was cleaner with her punches and the four of the five judges ruled in her favour in the opening round.

In the second round, Preeti dialled up the intensity, trying to break Chang defence. But the Chinese, who enjoyed the crowd support, defended well, moving around the ring.

Chang was warned a couple of times for hitting behind the head of Preeti.

Having done enough, Chang continued to defend in the final three minutes to take the win.

In the 75kg semifinal, Borgohain controlled the bout by using her long reach and kept landing straight punches.

Trailing after the opening round, Manikon went all out in the next three minutes only to lose steam in the final round. Borgohain was the fresher of the two in the final round and just evaded whatever little punches Manikon threw at her.

Later in the day, Sachin Siwach (57kg) will play his quarterfinal against local favourite Lyu Pin while Narender will take on Kazakh boxer Kamshybek Kunkabayev in the +92kg semifinal.

With PTI inputs