Guwahati, Aug 14 : For Lovlina Borgohain, the road back after the disappointment of 2024 has not been about chasing the past. It has been about finding a different way to approach boxing.
The Assamese boxer believes the Glasgow Commonwealth Games has given her perhaps the most important lesson of her career — to stop comparing herself with others and simply enjoy being a boxer.
“This CWG has been very special to me because it has taught me to be myself and not to compare myself with other boxers,” Lovlina said. “This CWG taught me to enjoy my boxing and enjoy my achievement, so I am very happy about it.”
The change in outlook comes after a difficult period following the Paris Olympics in 2024. Lovlina had to step away from the constant pressure of competition and find ways to divert her attention from boxing.
She turned to the Art of Living during that phase and even became a vegetarian.
“After 2024, I took the help of Art of Living to divert my attention from boxing. I even became a vegetarian,” she said. But with the benefit of hindsight, Lovlina feels she became too dependent on it.
“I was too dependent on Art of Living, which I believe was not necessary,” she admitted.
That period, however, gave her time to reflect on her career and the many defeats that have shaped her as much as her victories.
“I have more losses than wins and I think these defeats have been great lessons for me to grow as a boxer,” Lovlina said.
It is a revealing statement from a boxer whose biggest achievements have come on the biggest stages.
Lovlina is now part of a very exclusive Indian boxing club. With her Olympic, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games medals, she has joined Vijender Singh and Mary Kom as the only Indian boxers to have won medals at all three major multi-sport events.
Yet, the medals do not tell the entire story of her career.
“People remember only the wins, not the defeats,” she said.
For Lovlina, every competition has therefore become an opportunity to learn something new. Glasgow, in particular, appears to have changed the way she looks at her own performances.
Instead of measuring herself against other boxers, she wants to concentrate on her own journey.
That could be an important shift for an athlete who has spent years dealing with expectations, comparisons and the pressure of performing at the highest level.
The comeback after 2024 has consequently been about more than getting back into the ring. It has been about getting comfortable with herself again as a boxer.
And that, Lovlina believes, is what Glasgow has given her.
To be herself.
To enjoy her boxing.
And to enjoy her achievements.
