Had I won a medal in Paris, I might have retired from boxing: Lovlina

New Delhi: Lovlina Borgohain had considered retiring from boxing

to focus on her academy, but she set aside such thoughts after missing out on a medal at Paris Games.

The Assam boxer, instead, has now trained her sights on a second Olympic podium as she gears up for her international comeback at the upcoming World Championships.

The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist has been away from international competition since the Paris

Games last August. In the time away from the ring, she focused on setting up her academy, which was inaugurated in June in Guwahati.

“When I thought about starting my academy, I had planned to play until Paris (Olympics), and then maybe quit playing,” Lovlina told PTI.

“But the result in Paris wasn’t what I had expected. Had I won a medal there, that could have been my farewell.”

In the French capital, the 27-year-old came agonisingly close to winning back-to-back Olympic medals but lost in the quarterfinals of the women’s middleweight (75kg) division to eventual champion Li Qian of China.

Asked if the 2028 Los Angeles Games could be her farewell if she finishes on the podium there, Lovlina was candid: “Yes, that is possible.”

“I could have won gold in the Paris Olympics as well because all those women who stood on the podium, I have beaten them all before,” she said with a hint of regret.

“I have defeated the champion, the silver medallist has lost to me twice, and I have also beaten both bronze medallists.

That shows my level and I know I can win another Olympic medal. That keeps me going.” Her comeback will begin at the World Championships in Liverpool on

September 4.