Tokyo Olympics bronze medal-winning boxer Lovlina Borgohain has spoken out on the mental harassment she has been undergoing due to the constant changing of coaches ahead of the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.
Lovlina scripted history when she won the women's 69 kg bronze medal at Tokyo 2020, becoming the third Indian boxer to win a medal at the Olympics after Vijender Singh (bronze at Beijing 2008) and Mary Kom (bronze at London 2012).
Taking to Twitter, Lovlina wrote about the politics which is prevalent in the federation. She also claimed that her coaches, who helped her win medals, were not allowed for the Birmingham event. She called for the politics to be kept aside and let her focus on winning a medal for the country.
Read full statement here
Earlier, the 24-year-old boxer from Assam said that she has made some mistakes at the World Championship where her campaign ended in the pre-quarterfinals.
Aiming for gold, she has moved on from the disappointing outings at the Worlds, and is now ready to excel at the CWG 2022.
Asked about the level of the competition at the CWG as many world-class boxers are not participating, Lovlina told IANS on the sidelines of the ceremonial send-off of the Indian contingent in New Delhi: "Every international event is tough. I don't want to demean by saying that CWG is not a tough tournament. You have to be prepared for tough bouts. Like every international tournament, you need to be mentally strong, to handle the match pressure while facing very experienced and decorated boxers.
"The main thing was that in the World Championship I wasn't that strong mentally. I wasn't able to focus properly. I have worked on that. I worked hard on the mistakes I made at the Worlds."
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