Guwahati: Lovlina Borgohain has followed a path that bears striking parallels with the legendary Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom. But the two Indian boxing icons have built their legacies across different eras, weight categories and career trajectories.Separated by 17 years and about 350 kilometres, Mary Kom and Lovlina’s boxing careers trace a strikingly similar arc, from modest farming households in two of India’s most remote corners to international debuts that both began with silver medals.Kom, now 41, has not competed in any events and is already past IBA’s 40‑year ceiling for elite amateur boxing. Lovlina turned 29 on Friday.Kom was born in Kangathei village in Moirang in Manipur’s Bishnupur district, to Mangte Tonpa Kom, a tenant farmer. Borgohain was born in Bara Mukhia village in Assam’s Golaghat district, to Tiken Borgohain, a small-scale businessman and farmer.The parallel sharpens once their careers begin. Kom made her international debut in 2001 at the first-ever AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in Scranton, Pennsylvania, at just 18 years old, in the 48kg category, winning silver in her very first appearance on the world stage.Lovlina’s international debut came in 2013 at the Nations Women’s Junior Cup in Serbia in the 70kg category, where she too won silver, at age 17, almost the same age as Kom, with the same colour medal, on debut.Kom’s debut was immediately at the senior World Championship level, but Lovlina’s senior international bow came five years later, in 2018, at AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championship in New Delhi, where she won bronze in the 64kg category in her maiden senior appearance.Mary Kom was India’s trailblazer on the Olympic stage, winning bronze at the London 2012 Games in the 51 kg category. Nine years later, Lovlina became only the third Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal when she claimed bronze at Tokyo 2021 in the 69kg division.Mary Kom’s international dominance stretched over a much longer period. Her six World Championships gold medals remain the defining statistic of her career, alongside Olympic bronze and multiple Asian titles.Lovlina was forced into the 75kg category after the 69kg division was dropped from the Paris Olympics programme. She adapted quickly, winning Asian Championships gold in 2022 and becoming world champion at 75kg in 2023. She also won Asian Games silver in Hangzhou in 2023 to secure her Paris quota.At Paris 2024, however, Lovlina’s campaign ended in the quarter-finals after a defeat to China’s Li Qian, who eventually won the gold medal.The two careers intersect at one significant milestone, both becoming Olympic medallists and world champions, making them the only Indian women boxers to combine those achievements.For Lovlina, it is not about comparison with Mary but more about extending a legacy. Mary opened the Olympic door for Indian women’s boxing; Lovlina became the next generation to walk through it.
