‘Assam awaits your glorious return’: Himanta after speaking to Lovlina following Asian Games gold

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on October 2 spoke to boxer Lovlina Borgohain over the phone and congratulated her on winning gold at the 2026 Asian Games, saying he would let her “soak the moment” before meeting her after she returns to Guwahati.

Sarma said Lovlina was “super elated” after her victory and that people across Assam were celebrating the achievement.

“Just spoke to Lovlina over call and extended my best wishes on behalf of the people of Assam on her birthday as well as for this prized Gold at the Asian Games. She is super elated and so are we. I'll let her soak the moment and meet her when she's back to Guwahati,” Sarma wrote on X.

The chief minister also hailed Lovlina as Assam’s “Golden Girl” after she defeated China’s Ziyi Bao 5-0 in the women’s 75kg final in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

“There can be no bigger gift to oneself on a birthday than bagging the ultimate honour for the country,” Sarma said in another post, noting that the boxer’s victory came on her 29th birthday.

“Assam awaits your glorious return,” he added.

Lovlina had entered the final after a closely fought 3-2 victory over Kazakhstan’s Natalya Bogdanova in the semi-final. The win also made her the first Indian woman boxer to reach two consecutive Asian Games finals.

The Assam boxer had won silver in the same 75kg category at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Her latest victory marks an improvement on that result and adds an Asian Games gold to a career that already includes an Olympic bronze medal.

Lovlina’s father, Tiken Borgohain, had earlier said the family was hoping she would win gold as a special birthday gift. Her route to the final included a quarter-final victory over South Korea’s Seong Suyeon.

With the gold, Lovlina has now capped her 29th birthday with one of the biggest victories of her career.