Lovlina Borgohain, who won India’s only boxing medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics (a bronze) will have to compete in a new weight division after the IOC rejigged boxing weight categories for the 2024 Paris Games. The shuffling of Olympic weight divisions came about even as the IOC increased the number of Olympic weight classes for women’s boxing from five at the Tokyo Games to six at Paris.

Why does Lovlina have to change her weight category

The Tokyo Olympics had five weight classes for women ( 51kg, 57kg, 60kg, 69kg and 75kg). Lovlina competed in the 69kg (welterweight class). At the Paris Games, the 69kg division has been eliminated. The weight classes in Paris are the 50kg, 54kg, 57kg, 60kg, 66kg and 75kg. As such the Indian will have to compete in either the 66kg or 75kg weight categories.

Is Lovlina the only big-name boxer to be affected by the new weight division?

While Lovlina is the highest profile woman boxer to lose her natural weight division, there will be profound changes in the mens’ boxing program too.

The overall number of weight divsions in the men’s program have been reduced from seven to six (51kg, 57kg, 63.5kg, 71kg, 80kg, 92kg and over 92kg categories). The men’s 69kg and 75kg weight divisions have been eliminated and replaced with a single 71kg weight class. India had qualified two separate boxers in the 69kg (Vikas Krishan Yadav) and 75kg (Ashish Kumar) weight classes at the Tokyo Olympics. That number will be reduced by one.

Which weight division is Lovlina likely to compete in?

According to National coach Bhaskar Bhatt, Lovlina is likely to compete in the 75kg. “It will be hard for her to cut three kilos in order to compete in the 66kg division. Lovlina has the height and reach to do well at the 75kg category as well,” he says.

While all athletes in weight based sports such as boxing and wrestling compete at a lower weight division than their day to day walking weight, the amount of weight that boxers can ‘cut’ is far less than their wrestling counter parts. This is because boxers have to present their weight every time they compete which can be over the course of a week. Wrestlers meanwhile have to weigh in only on two consecutive days.

How is Lovlina likely to do at the 75kg division?

According to Bhatt, Lovlina should be able to transition successfully into a higher weight division. “Right now Lovlina’s normal weight is about 70kg. She has to manage her weight to compete at the 69kg division. But if she moves up to the 75kg division, she will be able to do more weight training, add more muscle and get stronger. She is tall enough to compete with boxers who are naturally in the 75kg division. Additionally because she is moving up a weight category, she will be quicker than the other competitors who are naturally heavier than her,” he says. However there will be likely more competition for Lovlina as she will likely have to take on Tokyo quarterfinalists Pooja Rani who is the current Indian incumbent at 75kg.

Has any other Indian successfully gone up a weight category?

The most successful Indian boxer to compete in a higher weight category than their natural weight is one of the world’s greatest – Mary Kom. She won five world championships over the (46kg and 48kg weight divisions) but had to move up to the 51kg (flyweight) weight category at the 2012 Olympics since only that class had been included in the Olympic program. Although Kom was small for the weight, she used her superior speed and handspeed to compensate for the size disadvantage and went on to win bronze.

ESPN Boxing