"If you have noticed, the first round was a clear 5-0 in my favour but the judges gave it 3-2 in Li Qian’s favour. In the second round too, the referee was clearly disturbing me and eventually penalized me for holding," said Lovlina.
Lovlina’s silver is also the first for an Indian women boxer at the continental Games after MC Mary Kom had won a gold medal in the 2014 edition in Incheon.
According to sources, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) decided to have joint flag bearers for the continental event.
Nikhat (51kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) had booked their berths for the Games after making the finals of their respective categories at the Women's World Boxing Championships held in New Delhi earlier this year.
Lovlina defeated Australia’s Caitlin Parker in the 75kg final to win the world title at the World Women’s Boxing Championship in New Delhi on Sunday.
This is the first time that four Indians pugilists have made it to the summit clash in the Women's World Championship
Another Indian pugilist Preeti lost her 52 kg bout narrowly and crashed out of the competition.
The event will see a total prize pool of INR 20 crore – INR 10 crores being the pool for gold medallists. Boxers who finish as runners-up in their categories as well as those who claim bronze will receive their prizes from pools of INR 5 crore respectively.
Indian Olympic medalist boxer Lovlina Borgohain advanced to the semifinal of the 75 kg category in the ongoing Asian Boxing Championships being held in Amman after a win over Kazakhstan's Valentina Khalzova in Saturday's quarterfinal bout.
Lovlina, who had easily won her first-round match, crashed out to Rosie Eccles of Wales, a silver medallist at the 2018 Games in Gold Coast who is hoping to upgrade her silver to gold in Birmingham.
