After two successive silver medals at major multi-sport events this year, Lovlina Borgohain has kept her pursuit of gold alive in Nagoya. The Indian boxer produced a composed and dominant performance to defeat South Korea’s Seong Suyeon 5-0 in the women’s 75kg quarterfinal and assure herself of at least a bronze medal at the Asian Games.
At the Nishio Gymnasium on Monday, Borgohain left little room for doubt. The 28-year-old Indian controlled the contest against Seong Suyeon to secure a unanimous-decision victory and book her place in the last four. The result also guarantees Borgohain her second consecutive Asian Games medal, adding to the silver she won in the middleweight category at Hangzhou in 2023.
The quarterfinal was an important test for Borgohain, who entered the tournament carrying the experience of another major final earlier this year. At the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, she reached the women’s 75kg final before losing 4-1 to Australia’s Emma-Sue Greentree. Greentree edged a closely contested bout to take gold, leaving Borgohain with silver.
In Nagoya, however, the Indian returned to the ring with a clear objective. Borgohain’s experience showed as she negotiated the Korean challenge without allowing the contest to become a prolonged battle. The unanimous 5-0 verdict reflected her control across the bout and ensured that she would leave the ring with a place in the semifinals. For Borgohain, the significance of the result extends beyond another podium finish.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist has already established herself among India’s most decorated boxers, having also won gold at the 2023 World Championships. Her Asian Games campaign now offers another opportunity to convert a previous silver into gold. The road ahead, however, will not be straightforward. Borgohain is set to face the winner of the quarterfinal between Kazakhstan’s Natalya Bogdanova and Uzbekistan’s Aziza Zokirova for a place in the final. Her semifinal is scheduled for September 30 at Nishio Gymnasium.
The 75kg division itself features a strong international field. World Boxing’s 2026 rankings placed Borgohain seventh in the women’s 75kg category, with China’s Ziyi Bao, Australia’s Emma-Sue Greentree and Uzbekistan’s Aziza Zokirova among the higher-ranked names. Seong Suyeon was also listed inside the top 10. That depth is representative of the challenge facing the Indian boxing contingent in Aichi-Nagoya.
World Boxing confirmed a field of 190 boxers from 33 National Olympic Committees for the Games, with 75 women competing across five women’s weight categories. All boxing bouts are being staged at Nishio Gymnasium from September 21 to October 2. India arrived in Japan with 11 boxers, including Borgohain, who was among the country’s Commonwealth Games silver medallists selected for the Asian Games squad. The Indian boxing team had also enjoyed a historic Commonwealth Games campaign, winning seven gold and three silver medals in Glasgow.
For Lovlina Borgohain, the value of this victory lies in the timing as much as the medal itself. Silver at Hangzhou was followed by another silver in Glasgow. Now, with another Asian Games medal already secured, she has moved one step closer to changing the colour of the medal. The 5-0 quarterfinal victory was not merely about progressing to the semifinals. It was about keeping the gold-medal objective firmly within reach. Borgohain now has two days to recover and prepare for the semifinal.
A victory there would take her back into an Asian Games final, giving the Indian boxer another opportunity to finish a major multi-sport Games campaign on top of the podium. For now, the medal is assured. The colour remains undecided. And after a clinical opening to her Asian Games campaign, Borgohain has ensured that the gold is still there to be fought for.
