Lovlina's Olympic medal brings better road to her Assam village

Boxer Lovlina Borgohain's medal in the Tokyo Olympics has not just brought her many glories but also a better road to Baromukhia, her native village in Assam's Golaghat district.

As the 23-year-old boxer trounced Chinese Taipei's Nien Chin Chen to seal the bronze medal in the women's welter weight category on July 30, Biswajit Phukan, BJP MLA, under whose constituency Lovlina's village falls rushed to the village along with the Public Works Department workers to repair the road.

Sand and gravel were laid and rolled in the nearly 2-km stretch of the road, which remained unattended and turns muddy during rains. "We are repairing the road to make it motorable. But the entire stretch will be metalled once the Monsoon season is over," Phukan told reporters.

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Lovlina's home is about three kilometres from Barpathar, the nearest town in Golaghat, one of the flood-prone districts in eastern Assam. Lovlina's father, Tiken Borgohain said the boxer had to negotiate the mud and slush during her initial days of practice. "The road was very bad. But some portion was metalled a few years ago but nearly half remained ungravelled. But some gravel and sand were laid after she qualified for the Tokyo Olympics," he said.

Phukan, who represents Barpathar Assembly constituency, said they were trying to make the road motorable before Lovlina returns home.

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"We all are very proud and happy that Lovlina became the first woman player from Assam to qualify for Olympics and even brought a medal. She is also the only boxer to have won a medal for India in this Olympics. She has scripted history for all of us. It is because of her that our road is being repaired. So it is our responsibility to ensure that she gets all benefits and appreciation," Dulen Konwar, another resident of Baromukhia said.

Lovlina is likely to return home on Sunday.