Freed from pressure of podium finish, Lovlina targets CWG gold

Lovlina Borgohain heads into the Commonwealth Games 2026 with a medal already guaranteed. Freed from the pressure, the Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist says her only target now is to win the one medal missing from her collection: Commonwealth Games gold.Commonwealth Games: Lovlina Borgohain is assured of a medal in 2026 competition. (PTI Photo)"Maybe this is a blessing for all my hard work," boxer Lovlina Borgohain breathed a sigh of relief ahead of her first bout at the Commonwealth Games 2026. The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist is yet to win a CWG medal, which she has now been assured of in the most unlikely of circumstances.Lovlina, now 28 years old, is already guaranteed a medal after receiving a bye into the semi-finals. For a boxer who had to battle through multiple bouts in each of her previous Commonwealth Games campaigns without reaching the podium, the direct passage came as a surprise."This was shocking news even for me. I never thought I'd get a direct entry into the semifinal because in the last two Commonwealth Games, I didn't even have a medal and I had to fight four or five bouts," Lovlina said on Friday.LOVLINA TARGETS GOLDThe guaranteed podium finish has also changed her mindset heading into the competition. Instead of carrying the burden of chasing a medal, Lovlina said she now has the freedom to focus solely on winning gold. "There is no medal pressure now. I have to fight for gold. If I can win gold for my country, that will make me happy," she said.COMMONWEALTH GAMES DAY 2: INDIA WRAP The bye marks a welcome change for the Assamese boxer, whose journey since the Paris Olympics has been anything but straightforward. After falling short in Paris, Lovlina admitted she even questioned whether she should continue boxing before deciding to persevere."After the Paris Olympics I changed a lot. I played a lot of competitions, including the World Championships. I was confused whether to continue playing or not, but I continued. Then I got back-to-back training and I started winning medals," she said.Those performances have gradually restored her confidence, and Lovlina believes the preparations leading into Glasgow have put her in the right frame of mind for another major title challenge.CONFIDENCE IS KEY: LOVLINAIndia's boxing team travelled to Belfast for a preparatory camp before arriving in Scotland, and Lovlina credited the training block for sharpening her game."We had a training camp in Belfast. The training and sparring went well, so I am confident that I can win gold here," she said.COMMONWEALTH GAMES DAY 3: INDIA SCHEDULEIf results go according to seeding, Lovlina is expected to meet Australia's Emma-Sue Greentree, a two-time World Championships bronze medallist, in the gold medal bout. While the two have never faced each other in competition, the Indian believes the outcome will depend more on her own mindset than her opponent."I haven't played against Emma before. But with me it's like I can win against anyone if I am fully confident, but sometimes I can also lose to a very weak boxer. If everything works, I can take her down," she said.Lovlina also welcomed the return of head coach Santiago Nieva, who rejoined the Indian boxing setup earlier this year after previously guiding the team during the Tokyo Olympics."We have had sparring sessions with her also. Santiago sir is a great coach. He was with us at the Tokyo Olympics as well and his training is very good," Lovlina said.With a Commonwealth Games medal already in the bag, the only colour left to determine is its shade. And for the first time in her CWG career, Lovlina walks into the ring knowing she has nothing to lose and everything to gain.- EndsPublished By: Kingshuk KusariPublished On: Jul 25, 2026 08:01 IST