Lovlina Borgohain's Coach Sandhya Gurung Overcame Paralysis & Sexism Before Creating A Winner

Lovlina Borgohain, the 23-year-old pugilist from Golaghat district in Assam, insured a Bronze Olympic medal for the country after she qualified for the semi-finals of the Women¡¯s welterweight division, defeating Chen Nien-chin from Chinese Taipei in their quarterfinal bout.

But her victory wasn't just her own. Behind her hard work and dedication was her coach Sandhya Gurung who swelled with pride after Boroghain's victory.

Gurung, who hails from Sikkim is a former national-level boxer who has been instrumental in Lovlina's transformation from a ¡®reluctant sparrer to a lion in the ring¡¯.

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She told East Mojo, ¡°She was a tall, shy girl, but the height advantage got her the attention from Assam in sub-junior camp. She was a bit reluctant in sparring, but we pushed her to fight that fear. Her target was always on the Olympics, ever since she went for the sub-junior world championship in 2013. She was initially playing in the 75 kg category. Later, she came down to 69 kg eyeing for the Olympics.¡±

However, Gurung just didn't end up becoming the future Olympic medalist's coach easily. She had her own struggles that she overcame. She suffered paralysis following a road accident when she was a teenager and remained bed-ridden for three years before she even got into the sport. But even after recovering, she wasn't very confident about Boxing since there was no organized boxing then.

But things started working for her after 1999 when women boxing got the push. In 20 years after that, Gurung became a national-level boxer and competed in the 68 kg category out of interest from 2000. Her last game was in 2008, where she secured a gold medal finish.

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After that, she was offered a job by the state¡¯s sports department and given the option of either becoming an official or a coach. The current chief minister of Sikkim, Prem Singh Golay, who was the sports minister at the time, nudged her towards becoming a coach.

By 2010, she obtained her coach¡¯s diploma and has been training fighters ever since. But it was in 2012 when she met Lovlina who was a little too fearful.

Gurung told ESPN, ¡°She had everything, but she was scared. It was okay against weaker opponents. She¡¯d still win against them. But the moment you put her in the ring with a real threat ¨C in an actual pressure situation, she would panic.¡±

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But she worked hard with Lovlina and we know the rest of the story about the star boxer.

In addition to coaching Lovlina, Sandhya manages her life between family in Sikkim and the National camp in Delhi. She coaches many women in Sikkim who are still trying to get a name in boxing. Gurung's intention is to make a name for women in the boxing ring.