On Wednesday, in a sumo wrestling hall where women are not normally allowed to enter the ring, Lovlina Borgohain punched for all the girls out there. She jabbed for her far-flung home state of Assam, known for its fine tea but also for an armed insurgency.
But above all, she fought in the Olympic women¡¯s welterweight boxing semifinal for India, the world¡¯s second most populous country, which, even by the most charitable of calculations, is wanting in the Olympics. Aside from a string of men¡¯s hockey wins generations ago, India has won only one other gold in its Olympic history, in shooting in 2008.
¡°I was 100% sure that I would come home with the gold,¡± said Borgohain, who spent eight years away from home to train, her father once picking tea to make a living.
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