The Indian boxing team experienced a mixture of fortunes this Monday during the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. A bright spot was Lovlina Borgohain, who brought her Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze-winning form to New Delhi. She started her tournament strongly, earning a unanimous 5-0 decision over Mexico's Vanessa Ortiz to advance to the 75kg category quarter-finals. It was a day of mixed luck for the Indian boxers at the ongoing International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championships on Monday. Lovlina Borgohain, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games bronze medalist, made a winning start to her campaign with a dominant victory over Mexico’s Vanessa Ortiz in New Delhi on Monday. Borgohain made it to the quarter-finals of the 75kg category after securing a 5-0 unanimous decision win over Ortiz.
Right from the start, Borgohain pressed her advantage, landing a heavy right hook squarely on Ortiz's face. Interestingly, this was the only time she truly went on the offensive; for the remainder of the fight, she played a more reserved game, securing the victory through defensive stability. As this is her debut in the 75kg weight class at the world level, the 25-year-old admitted she is still refining her approach to make her strikes more impactful.
The fight highlighted the classic advantage of height and reach. At 1.77m, Borgohain was significantly taller than Ortiz, allowing her to dictate the distance. She fought a conservative match, staying balanced on her back foot and waiting for the perfect moments to land clean, sharp jabs.
Borgohain explained to reporters that her defensive approach was a calculated strategy based on the height difference. She admitted she's still finding her groove, noting that while she had a more complex game plan, she wasn't able to execute everything. Despite the 5-0 shutout, she expressed dissatisfaction with her performance, stating that she knows she is capable of much more.
She further noted that adjusting to the 75kg division is a challenge, as her opponents are more seasoned at this weight while she is still adapting. Because of this learning curve, she expects her upcoming quarter-final bout to be significantly more difficult.
Earlier that day, Sakshi Chaudhary also moved forward to the quarter-finals of the 52kg division after beating Kazakhstan's Zhazira Urakbayeva. However, the most exciting fight of the day came from Preeti in the 54kg class. Although she narrowly lost a 4-3 decision to Thailand's Jitpong Jutamas—a silver medalist from the previous year—the match was so incredibly tight that it required a formal review.
Preeti's performance was particularly impressive given the controversy surrounding her selection, as some had questioned her spot on the team after she failed to win the National Championships. The 19-year-old silenced those critics with a brave and fearless display in the ring.