Guwahati: Today, Himanta Biswa Sarma congratulated boxer Lovlina Borgohain over the phone after she won gold in the women’s 75kg category at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The victory came on Lovlina’s 29th birthday.
Sarma said Lovlina was “super elated” after her victory and that people across Assam were celebrating her achievement. He said he would allow the boxer to enjoy the moment before meeting her after she returns to Guwahati.
Lovlina defeated China’s Ziyi Bao 5-0 in the final to secure her maiden Asian Games gold medal. The victory improved on her silver-medal finish in the same category at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Sarma described Lovlina as Assam’s “Golden Girl”, saying her triumph was a special birthday gift to herself and the country.
The boxer had reached the final after defeating Kazakhstan’s Natalya Bogdanova 3-2 in a closely fought semi-final. She had earlier beaten South Korea’s Seong Suyeon in the quarter-final.
Lovlina, who won an Olympic bronze medal at Tokyo 2020, has now become only the second Indian woman boxer to win Asian Games gold, after MC Mary Kom achieved the feat in 2014.