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Lovlina Borgohain clinched a 5-0 victory over Germany’s Sunniva Hoftsad and is now just a win away from adding another Olympic medal to the bronze that she won at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. read more
 "Lovlina Borgohain, Nishant Dev qualify for boxing quarter-finals")
Lovlina Borgohain celebrates after beating Germany's Sunniva Hoftsad to make the quarter-finals of the Pars Olympics. AP
Boxer Lovlina Borgohain remained on course for a second successive Olympic medal after she defeated Sunniva Hofstad of Germany via unanimous decision in the women’s 75 kg round of 16 bout at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
Borgohain clinched a 5-0 victory over her German opponent and is now just a win away from adding another Olympic medal to the bronze that she won at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
Paris Olympics: News, schedule, medals tally and more
But her path is not an easy one as she will take on top-seeded Chinese Li Qian in the last-eight stage on August 4. A win in this bout would ensure at least a bronze medal for her.
Her performance on the day was an assured one. While her rival seemed keen to draw her into a slugfest, Borgohain kept her composure and distance to land clean blows on counter-attack. The Indian also had to deal with plenty of clinching by Hofstad, who came across busier of the two boxers, complete with a perilously low guard.
LIVE | India at Paris Olympics, Day 5
But the Assam-boxer didn’t fall into the trap and attacked the Norwegian with precision by drawing her in. Borgohain has been handed a tough draw but the wiry pugilist has shown the ability to rise above it in her past performances, most notably in Tokyo where she defeated world champion Chen Nien-Chin in the quarter-finals to secure herself a bronze.
Her opponent on 4 August, Qian, is a silver-medallist from the Tokyo Games in the middle-weight (75kg) division. She had also won a bronze in the 2016 Rio Games and claimed a gold medal in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
The Indian boxing campaign at the Games has been mixed so far with three of the six in contention, already out of the competition. Those ousted early include former Asian Games champion Amit Panghal (51kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg) and Jaismine Lamboria (57kg).
Remaining in fray apart from Borgohain are the debutant duo of world champion Nikhat Zareen (women’s 50kg) and Nishant Dev (men’s 71kg).
Nishant Dev enters quarter-final
India’s Nishant Dev entered the quarterfinals of the 71kg men’s boxing competition, defeating Jose Gabriel Rodriguez Tenorio of Ecuador at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday. Dev won the contest 3-2 via a split decision.
Dev started the bout on an aggressive note, landing straight and precise punches on his opponent to win the first round comfortably. But the Ecuadorian saved his best for the last as Dev looked a bit tired to take the contest to the wire.
But in the end, the Indian did enough to defend his score and secure a place in the last-eight round.
With PTI inputs
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