Lovlina Borgohain ready to join national boxing camp

NEW DELHI: It has been 'frustrating 26 days' for Olympic-bound boxer Lovlina Borgohain, who has been locked in a room at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) hostel in Patiala, waiting to get a clearance to join the national boxing camp.

The boxer was supposed to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine before joining the camp. However, a call to visit Chandigarh -- to receive her Arjuna Award at the virtual ceremony on August 29 – just two days before the completion of the two weeks isolation meant she had to undergo the entire quarantine period once again.

"I had completed my 12 days and then I went to Chandigarh for the award ceremony and returned from there, I was asked to start the quarantine period from the beginning," Lovlina, who is in quarantine outside the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, told IANS over phone.

"It was really frustrating but rules are rules and we must follow these for our safety. It has been 26 days now I am locked inside the room," she said.

When asked how she kills time alone, the pugilist admitted: "It is exhausting mentally but I do some yoga and speak to friends and family to break the boredom."

Lovlina expressed her happiness that the period is going to end on Tuesday. "I can't explain the feeling; how tough it is to stay in one room and do nothing (major). It feels like I am getting freedom now," Lovlina said and laughed.

Interestingly, before coming for the camp, she was at her home in Assam and the state was under strict lockdown till last month. "In our state, nobody follows protocols so it was important to put the lockdown. I was thinking of joining the camp when it started on August 1 but then I got locked at home. I had faced a lot before joining this camp," she said.

Lovlina further said that the Assam government should implement the lockdown in the state once again as the number of Coronavirus cases were rising. IANS

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