Vishvanath Suresh, Ankushita Boro and Narender smashed their way into the semifinals as Indian boxers confirmed three more medals at the Asian Boxing Championships 2026 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Saturday.
The 21-year-old Vishvanath Suresh stunned reigning world champion Sanzhar Tashkenbay of Kazakhstan with a 5-0 victory in the men’s 50kg division. The Kazakh pugilist is also the top-ranked boxer in the category.
Nikhat, Priya and Preeti enter semis as India assured of three medals at Asian Boxing meet
In the women’s 65kg category, Ankushita Boro registered a 4-1 win over Laura Yessenkeldi of Kazakhstan to advance to the final four. Ankushita will next face Paris 2024 bronze medallist Nien-Chin Chen of Chinese Taipei in the semifinals.
In the men’s 90+kg division, Narender Berwal continued the momentum with a 5-0 victory over the UAE’s Orkhan Aghayev in his quarterfinal bout.
Narender will take on People’s Republic of China’s Bayikewuzi Danabieke, a bronze medallist at the Asian Games 2023 and last year’s World Championships, in his next bout.
Meanwhile, in the men’s 65kg category, Aditya exited the competition after a 5-0 loss to Uzbekistan’s Abdulloh Madaminov in the quarterfinals.
Nikhat to take on Wu Yu
On Friday, Nikhat Zareen, Priya Ghanghas and Preeti Pawar marched into the semifinals, thereby confirming medals.
The 29-year-old Nikhat Zareen will face China’s Wu Yu, the Paris 2024 gold medallist, in the women’s 51kg semifinals.
In the women’s 54kg category, Preeti Pawar, the gold medallist at the World Boxing Cup Finals, will face the Republic of Korea’s Im Aeji, the Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist, in the semis.
Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain, reigning world champions Minakshi Hooda and Jaismine Lamboria and Olympian Pooja Rani are also a part of India’s squad and will open their respective campaigns later.
India sent a 20-member boxing squad for the continental championships. Indian boxers who reach the finals in approved weight categories will secure direct qualification for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
The ongoing Asian Boxing Championships feature 194 boxers from 21 national federations. There are more than 20 Olympians in the list.
