Lovlina Borgohain needs to show killer instinct to win Paris Olympics medal: Ex-India Boxing Coach BI Fernandez

Former Indian men’s boxing coach, Blas Iglesias Fernandez today backed world champion Nikhat Zareen to return with a medal from the upcoming Paris Olympics and said that he feels that Olympic medalist Lovlina Borgohain can win too but “only if she shows killer instinct.”

Nikhat (50 kg) and Lovlina (75 kg) are among the four Indian women boxers who have qualified for the July-August Summer Games in Paris. The others are Preeti Pawar (54 kg) and Parveen Hooda (57 kg). Lovlina won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Lovlina Borgohain has bagged her Paris ticket after winning the world championship gold in 2023 and the silver medal at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games.

Fernandez, the only overseas coach to have ever won a Dronacharya award, is back in India after being appointed by the Sports Authority of India as High-Performance Coach for two years.

Speaking recently on the sidelines of the multination camp for junior boxers at the SAI’s National Centre of Excellence in Rohtak, Fernandez evaluated India’s chances at the upcoming Summer Games.

The much-revered coach said that India can win “at least two medals” in Paris and Nikhat Zareen (50 kg) had a high probability to bag one of them.

“I love the boxing (style) of Nikhat. She is very intelligent. She has good ring tactics. She knows when she is winning and when she is losing,” said Fernandez to SAI Media, indicating that the two-time world championships gold medallist was a boxer who was always in control of her bouts.

“This is Nikhat’s time to prove herself. It’s true that she had lived in the shadows of Mary Kom but now it’s her chance to prove herself and make India proud,” said Fernandez.

He said that after Tokyo Olympic, 26-year-old Lovlina Borgohain has struggled with her form. Moving from 69 kg to 75 kg division was never an easy task. Lovlina did not finish among the medals at the 2022 World Championships and the Commonwealth Games. But the tall.

“Lovlina has to show more killer instinct. I have seen some of her bouts and I think she lost them because Lovlina was not aggressive and proactive enough. If she can box to her potential, she can finish among the medals in Paris,” said Fernandez.
The Paris 2024 Olympics will be held in July-August later this year.

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