National Games 2025 Boxing: Olympic medalist Lovlina Borgohain marks her return to the ring with a gold

Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain made a strong comeback to the ring by clinching the gold medal in the women’s 75kg category at the National Games 2025 in Uttarakhand on Friday (February 7). Competing for the first time since her campaign at the Paris 2024 Olympics, the Assam pugilist displayed her dominance with a convincing 5-0 unanimous decision victory over Chandigarh’s Pranshu Rathore.

The triumph marks Lovlina’s second consecutive gold at the National Games, having previously won the top prize in the same category in the 2022 edition in Gujarat.

Meanwhile, in the men’s 63.5kg category, Shiva Thapa had to settle for silver after a hard-fought final against Vanshaj of the Services Sports Central Board. The bout ended in a close 4-3 split decision, denying the London 2012 Olympian a second National Games gold. Thapa, a six-time Asian Championship medalist and Arjuna awardee had previously won bronze at the 2022 edition.

The day also saw junior world champion Ankushita Boro create history by securing her third consecutive gold at the National Games. The Assam boxer dominated Uttarakhand’s Kajal in the 66kg welterweight final, winning 5-0 to maintain her perfect record in the competition.

Among other key results, Services’ Mandengbam Singh secured the men’s 51kg flyweight gold with a 4-1 victory over Anshul Punia. In the women’s 60kg category, Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Jaismine Lamboria delivered a flawless performance to defeat Haryana’s Manisha Moun 5-0.

The host state, Uttarakhand, also had reason to celebrate as Nivedita Kari clinched the women’s 50kg flyweight title with a dominant 5-0 win over Haryana’s Kalpana. In another closely contested bout, Madhya Pradesh’s Divya Panwar edged past Uttar Pradesh’s Sonia Lather 4-1 to claim gold in the women’s 54kg bantamweight category.

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Services top the medal tally in Boxing at the National Games 2025

The Boxing event at the National Games 2025 came to an end on February 7. The Services Sports Control Board finished as the overall winners with an impressive tally of seven medals, all of them gold.

Hosts Uttarakhand secured second place with a total of five medals, including three gold and two silver, while Assam also won five medals, comprising two gold, two silver, and one bronze.