A couple of years ago, around the time she first entered the senior boxing camp of the Indian team, Lovlina Borgohain started to keep a journal. She wrote of her day, her struggles, and her victories.
"I write when I have a special moment," she says. "I always write something when I get up and after training. After training I will write day by day I am getting better."
Tuesday was as special a moment as any for the 23-year-old from Golaghat in Assam, who assured herself of a medal - one of four for India -- after winning her quarterfinal in the 69kg category at the Women's Boxing World Championships.
The medal hasn't come easy. In her first bout, Borgohain beat the 2014 World Champion Atheyna Bylon before claiming a unanimous 5-0 decision over 2016 World silver medalist Kaye Scott of Australia. Her exploits in Delhi will no doubt earn her recognition as among the brightest new talents of Indian women's boxing, and boost her self-confidence in a year where things haven't always gone her way.
The low point was the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, where Borgohain lost a tight 3-2 split decision to England's Sandy Ryan, the eventual gold medalist. The bout was exceedingly close and the Indian felt she had been hard done by. "I had given everything to do well in the Commonwealth Games but luck was not in my favour," she says.
That loss, though, motivated her further. "I began looking at the World Championships. I felt I had to remove whatever problems I had at the Commonwealth Games. So I focused on my strength and conditioning. Each day I tried to improve on myself. I tried to train as if I was in competition."
It's likely Borgohain is currently in the best shape of her career here in Delhi. This is a big deal considering her fitness has always been considered one of her strengths. It was the reason she even found her calling in boxing to begin with.
The daughter of a small business man in her village, Borgohain trained in Muay Thai in school, just as her two older sisters did. A visiting coach from the Sports Authority of India facility in Guwahati recommended that she take up boxing based on nothing but her physical conditioning. Not long after, Borgohain joined as a trainee and was selected to compete at the 2012 Sub Junior Nationals.
"I didn't know anything about boxing. I knew a little about punching from Muay Thai but not much. But because I was so fit, I ended up winning the tournament," she recalls.
Borgohain's technique has clearly come a long way since then as she went on to win medals at youth and eventually senior levels, including a bronze at the 2017 Asian Championships. She has since become obsessed about her sport. Following the 2016 Boxing Nationals, Borgohain chopped off her waist length hair in order to be able to concentrate better in the ring. Ahead of the Commonwealth Games, her mane was trimmed to a buzz cut.
Following the disappointment in Gold Coast, Borgohain has not cut her hair almost as penance. Anything less than a medal in Delhi was unthinkable, she says.
"It would have been very terrible if I lost in the quarterfinal. I've sacrificed a lot for boxing. I've not gone home for nearly a year because I have been in training. I miss my mother and father terribly. I can't wait to go and have home cooked food," she says.
A strong result here has gone a long way in giving her struggle meaning. "For me, the World Championships are more important than the Commonwealth Games because the 69kg category is an Olympic event. I have to beat everyone if I have to play in the Olympics. This will give me a lot of confidence before the Olympic qualification next year."
But all that must wait until the end of the World Championships, as must any further entries to her diary.
"I haven't written anything about winning bronze medal. I'm going to wait until I get a gold."