Lovlina and Sakshi book their places in Indian team for Asian and Commonwealth Games

Lovlina Borgohain and Sakshi Chaudhary booked their places in the Indian boxing team for the upcoming Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games with wins at the national trials in Patiala on Friday.

Lovlina, a Tokyo 2020 Olympics bronze medallist and a former world champion, outclassed Sanamacha Chanu 5-0 in the women’s 75kg boxing final. The 28-year-old Indian boxer had missed an earlier opportunity to secure her berth after failing to reach the final at the Asian Boxing Championships 2026 in Ulaanbaatar last month.

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Under the Boxing Federation of India selection policy, boxers who reached the finals at the Asian Boxing Championships earned direct qualification for the weight categories featured at both multi-sport events.

Lovlina won silver at the Asian Games 2023, a year after narrowly missing out on a medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022.

Sakshi had stunned Nikhat in semis

In the women’s 51kg division, Sakshi beat reigning 48kg world champion Minakshi Hooda 5-0 in the final.  Sakshi had earlier stunned two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen 4-1 in the semifinals.

Lovlina Borgohain outclassed Sanamacha Chanu 5-0 in the women’s 75kg boxing final. Pics: BFI

Minakshi, meanwhile, had defeated former world champion and Commonwealth Games 2022 gold medallist Nitu Ghanghas in the last four. Although Minakshi won gold in the 48kg category at the Asian Boxing Championships, that weight class is not included in either the Asian Games or Commonwealth Games programme.

Minakshi, therefore, had to move up to 51kg, where she fell short against Sakshi.

Among those who had already secured qualification through the Asian Championships were Sachin Siwach (men’s 60kg), Preeti Pawar (women’s 54kg) and Priya Ghanghas (women’s 60kg), all of whom reached the final in Ulaanbaatar.

Jaismine Lamboria (women’s 57kg) and Arundhati Choudhary (women’s 70kg) and Aditya Pratap Singh (men’s 65kg) qualified for the Commonwealth Games only, as their categories are not part of the Asian Games programme.

World championship bronze medallist Parveen Hooda (women’s 65kg) and Narender Berwal (+90kg), the only Indian male boxer to win a medal at the 2023 Asian Games, also won their trials to punch their tickets to the Games.

The Commonwealth Games 2026, to be held from July 23 to August 2 in Glasgow, will feature 14 boxing events.

The Asian Games 2026 is scheduled to be held from September 19 to October 4 in Japan’s Aichi-Nagoya and will be contested across 11 weight categories.  The Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, meanwhile, will award medals in 14 boxing events.

Indian boxing team for Asian Games 2026:

Women: Sakshi Chaudhary (51kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), Priya Ghanghas (60kg), Parveen Hooda (65kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg).

Men: Jadumani Singh (55kg), Sachin Siwach (60kg), Sumit Kundu (70kg), Ankush (80kg), Kapil Pokhariya (90kg), Narender Berwal (+90kg).

Indian boxing team for Commonwealth Games 2026:

Women: Sakshi Chaudhary (51kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), Priya Ghanghas (60kg), Parveen Hooda (65kg), Arundhati Choudhary (70kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg).

Men: Jadumani Singh (55kg), Sachin Siwach (60kg), Aditya Pratap Singh (65kg), Sumit Kundu (70kg), Ankush (80kg), Kapil Pokhariya (90kg), Narender Berwal (+90kg).