Lovlina Borgohain couldn't make the most of a favourable draw in the women's 75kg boxing division, losing the final to China's Li Qian, a two-time Olympic medallist and former World champion.
However, Lovlina, the sole Indian finalist in women's boxing here, did tick off a couple of personal boxes: She won her career's first major silver medal and also sealed her berth in the Paris Olympics. And she confirmed her comfort levels in the 75kg category, to which she'd switched last year.
When these two boxers met at the World Championships semifinals in New Delhi this year, Lovlina had won but this time the result was emphatically in the Chinese boxer's favour. Lovlina, in red, landed the first blow of the bout but was second-best for the remainder of the contest. Qian was the better boxer on the day, regularly connecting punches to Lovlina's jaw while the Indian tried to dance around the ring and use her reach to her advantage. She did use her reach, but she was left punching the air more often than not.
The first round went 3-2 to Qian, backed by a boisterous crowd. The second, 5-0. Lovlina adopted a low guard and wanted to fight on the counter, but she showed little aggression or intent to score. The two engaged in multiple clinches, but it was quite easy for the Chinese boxer. Lovlina had to produce something beyond extraordinary to beat Qian in the third round. That did not happen.
Lovlina flashed a wide smile as the stadium announcer said Qian had won the bout via unanimous decision. Was she amused by the result? Was it joy? Or the relief that she had booked her ticket to Paris?
Coming into these Games, Lovlina knew she had to reach the final to win an Olympic quota - her weight category is one of two that awards quotas to finalists, all others do it at the semifinal stage. Granted, she had a favourable draw and began her Asian Games campaign at the quarterfinal stage, but that could have also played tricks on her mind, made her complacent. Also, a slip-up in the early rounds would have led to severe criticism.
And that's something she could not afford - especially not since going off the radar after her bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Two years ago, Lovlina was the only Indian woman boxer to medal at the Olympics. It was her crowning glory and matched the medal that the godmother of Indian boxing, Mary Kom, had won in 2012.
But she stepped back from the stage almost a year after that Olympic medal - and into the gap stepped Nikhat Zareen, who herself emerged from Mary Kom's shadow. Nikhat won competition after competition and her World Championship triumph in 2022 thrust her into the spotlight. She became the face of Indian boxing, began to trend on Twitter and even collaborated with her favourite actor, Salman Khan.
Perhaps that post-final smile was the knowledge that she'd found herself in the 75kg category.
Lovlina's absence was due to her decision to switch from the 69kg - in which she won both her Worlds and Olympics bronze medals - to the 75kg, because the 69kg was dropped from the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Switching to the 66kg category (which is part of the 2024 Olympics) was not an option because that would then reduce her bone strength and in turn, make her more prone to injury. Hence 75kg was the best bet.
The qualities that made her so successful at the 69kg - her height, reach and strength - were nullified at the 75kg division. Her opponents were the same height if not taller, stronger and had the same reach as her: it was now an even playing field, and Lovlina had to catch up.
The results didn't come at first. She did not win a medal at the 2022 World Championships or the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The Asian Championships gold was the only saving grace, but that did not count for much. She was no longer the face of Indian boxing.
So she put her head down and delivered when it mattered the most: at the World Championships in Delhi. It was the first time she had won more than a bronze, her first big medal since the Olympics.
She now has two big medals since Tokyo. A silver is something she has never won in a major event. And she will savour it: she has India's best women's boxing medal at the Asian Games since Mary Kom won gold in 2014.