Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Lovlina Borgohain’s Commonwealth Games campaign gave her a silver medal, but it was her reaction away from the boxing ring that caught Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attention. The boxer was praised after she objected to a distorted Indian flag displayed at a restaurant in Glasgow.
India’s Commonwealth Games medallists met Modi at his residence in New Delhi on Sunday, with Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Sports Raksha Khadse and Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha also present. Speaking about the incident, Modi asked Lovlina what had happened at the restaurant.
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“Kya hua wo restaurant waale se jhagda kar rahi thi? (What happened, you were fighting with that restaurant guy?)” Modi asked.
Lovlina laughed before explaining why she had raised the issue.
“We had such a good performance and it was the last day of the Games. It was a happy occasion sir, we were celebrating and I didn’t like it when I saw the distorted flag. I politely told them and they have made the changes also,” she said.
Modi praised the boxer for noticing the issue despite being in the middle of celebrations. India finished fourth at the Glasgow Games with 39 medals, including 13 gold, 17 silver and nine bronze.
LOVLINA’S FLAG MOMENT
The incident became one of the lighter but more meaningful moments of the interaction. For Lovlina, the issue was simple: India’s athletes had just completed a successful campaign and the national flag was being displayed incorrectly.
Modi said her response showed that the significance of the flag remained important even in the middle of celebrations.
“To be able to recognise the significance of that map at a time when you were celebrating and the Games were over, I can tell you truthfully, that video was not ordinary. It will be remembered by people for a very long time,” Modi told the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist.
MIRABAI’S EMOTIONAL RECALL
Weightlifting star Mirabai Chanu also shared a more personal side of her Glasgow experience. She won the women’s 48kg gold with a Games-record lift of 190kg, but the moment on the podium brought back memories of a difficult four years.
Modi asked her about the tears she shed after winning gold.
“I was very happy and emotional in that moment. I was crying because I missed a medal in Paris Olympics by one kilogram. I had faced a lot in these last four years. I was battling injuries and some family problems too,” Mirabai said.
She added that hearing the national anthem while watching the Indian flag rise made it difficult to hold back her emotions.
The interaction also had its share of laughs, with boxer Narender Berwal recalling a joke made by a Pakistani boxer after their 2015 Military World Games bout.
Modi also praised boxer Jadumani Singh, who dedicated his Glasgow gold to the Indian armed forces after defeating a Pakistani opponent on July 26, celebrated as Vijay Diwas.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
