Boxing
Lovlina, Parveen and Ankush wrap up India’s successful boxing campaign on a golden high
Lovlina Borgohain celebrated her 29th birthday in style with a gold medal even as Parveen Hooda and Ankush Panghal wrapped up India’s boxing campaign at the Asian Games 2026 on a high in Aichi, Japan, on Friday.
Overall, India finished with six medals, three gold and as many bronze, to mark their most successful Asian Games boxing campaign in terms of titles won. Guangzhou 2010 saw India bag two golds.
Ankush stuns world champ, Parveen too enters final; Narender settles for a bronze
Earlier, Kapil Pokhariya, in men’s 90kg, Narender Berwal, in men’s +90kg, and Priya Ghanghas, in women’s 60kg, had secured bronze medals at Aichi-Nagoya 2026. In Asian Games boxing, both losing semifinalists are awarded bronze medals.
A very special birthday, says Lovlina
On her 29th birthday, Lovlina Borgohain was the first Indian to take the ring at the Nishio Gymnasium as she squared off against the People’s Republic of China’s Ziyi Bao, an Asian Championships gold medallist, in the women’s 75kg title bout.
Lovlina Borgohain made a muted start but grew into the bout and used her experience well to control the pace of the contest, eventually winning it 5-0 by unanimous decision. Pic: X/PTI
The Indian boxer made a muted start but grew into the bout and used her experience well to control the pace of the contest, eventually winning it 5-0 by unanimous decision. “I think it’s the first time that I get a present for myself,” Lovlina said. “It’s a very special birthday, and I think I have already celebrated because I got gold.”
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“It was a very tough fight. But I was always thinking that I just have to win. The last round was very tough. I was winning by 2-1 in the first and second round. So, I thought I have to just win the third round.
“The opponent was very strong. I was playing with her for the first time. So, I had no idea how she was going to play. I was motivating myself that I have to win. I don’t want to lose,” Lovlina said.
Having upgraded her silver from Hangzhou 2023, Lovlina also became only the second Indian woman after Mary Kom, at Incheon 2014, to win a gold medal at the Asian Games.
Lovlina, an Olympic bronze medallist, had assured herself of a podium finish with a 5-0 unanimous decision win over the Republic of Korea’s Seong Suyeon in the quarterfinals before edging past Kazakhstan’s reigning world champion Natalya Bogdanova 3-2 via split decision in a nervy semifinal.
Parveen stuns Olympic bronze medallist Chen
Parveen Hooda, later in the day, secured her boxing medal in some style, stunning Paris 2024 Olympics bronze medallist Chen Nien-Chin of Chinese Taipei by a 3-2 split decision in the women’s 65kg final.
As soon as Parveen was declared the winner by a split decision, Chen hugged the Indian boxer and then lifted her into the air.
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Parveen responded by raising Chen’s hand, acknowledging the Taiwanese boxer’s fighting spirit after a closely contested final.
It was a beautiful display of sportsmanship between two boxers whose journeys to the Asian Games final were shaped by setbacks, resilience and remarkable comebacks.
For Parveen Hooda the gold marked a powerful redemption. She had lost her Hangzhou Asian Games bronze medal following a doping whereabouts failure, but returned to the Games determined to put that disappointment behind her. Pics: X
After Parveen took all five cards in the first round and Chen, a former world champion, flipped the script in the second, it was a scrap for the title in the final round.
Parveen had earlier defeated Uzbekistan’s Navbakhor Khamidova and China’s Li Shu by unanimous decisions to earn her spot in the gold medal bout.
For Parveen, the gold marked a powerful redemption. She had lost her Hangzhou Asian Games bronze medal following a doping whereabouts failure, but returned to the Games determined to put that disappointment behind her.
She beat a former world champion on her way to the final before edging Chen 3-2 to claim gold. Chen knows all about overcoming adversity. The Taiwanese boxer was diagnosed with stage II Hodgkin lymphoma in 2019, just as she was preparing for the Tokyo Olympics.
She underwent eight rounds of chemotherapy before making her way back to high-level boxing. Her comeback took her to a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, and she has now added an Asian Games silver to her collection.
Two boxers, two very different battles, and one wonderful moment of camaraderie.
Ankush clinical against Kim
Ankush Panghal was clinical against South Korea’s Kim Min-seong in the men’s 80kg final and clinched it by a 4-0 split decision. He is the eighth Indian male boxer to win gold at the Asian Games.
The Indian boxer began his run to the gold medal with a 5-0 win over Hamsa Vogel of Bahrain, before registering another dominant 5-0 victory against Nekruz Salimov of Tajikistan. In the semifinal, Panghal overcame Uzbekistan’s Fazliddin Erkinboev 4-1 to book his place in the gold-medal bout.
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“Yes, he (Amit) is my elder brother. I used to talk to him. I still talk to him. In 2018, Amit Panghal won the gold; this time I wanted to replicate him. He is like my real brother,” Ankush said after his gold medal win.
Ankush Panghal was clinical against South Korea’s Kim Min-seong in the men’s 80kg final and clinched it by a 4-0 split decision. He is the eighth Indian male boxer to win gold at the Asian Games
Despite having beaten the world champion, Ankush said he wasn’t overconfident coming into the final.
“No, I wasn’t overconfident. But I was confident that I would win the final. I was never overconfident that I would beat everyone. I just wanted to do my best,” he said.
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Under the Boxing Federation of India’s selection criteria, Asian Games medallists will be selected as the main entries in their respective weight categories for the World Boxing Championships 2027.
The World Championships in Kazakhstan will be the first qualifying event in boxing for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.