Lovlina Borgohain battles back to reach the finals of the Asian Games boxing, aiming for gold alongside fellow Indian contenders.

Updated on: Sep 30, 2026, 22:06:45 IST

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New Delhi: Lovlina Borgohain was in trouble after losing the first-round card against Kazakhstan’s Natalya Bogdanova in the boxing middleweight (75kg) semifinal at the Asian Games. Bogdanova, the 70kg world champion, was scoring with her stinging jab. Lovlina, however, made a gritty comeback in the next two rounds, producing a fine display of counter-attacking boxing to storm into the final.

The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist was quick to defend and counter, landing clean punches in the second round. In the third, she was more aggressive, while Bogdanova’s punches were falling short. It was still a close contest, and Lovlina won by a split decision. She is now among three Indian boxers who will be fighting for gold on Friday.

Lovlina, 28, will face China’s Ziyi Bao and will be aiming to improve on the silver medal she won at the last edition of the Games.

Parveen Hooda will take on Paris Olympic bronze medallist Chen Nien-chin in the 65kg final, while feisty Ankush Panghal will fight Korea’s Kim Min-seong in the men’s 80kg final.

Two more Indian boxers lost in the semifinals on Wednesday to take bronze. One of them, Priya Ghanghas, gave a superb performance against former world champion Yang Chengyu of China. Though she lost by a split verdict, the 20-year-old showed why she is so highly rated.

In what turned out to be the most exciting contest of the day, the two exchanged furious punches throughout the three rounds. There was no let-up as a fearless Priya responded to Yang’s punches with some solid blows of her own.

Priya, the Asian Championships gold medallist, has shown fine form. She was missing her punches in the second round, but in the third, Priya boxed from close range, landing combinations.

“It’s my first Asian Games and winning a bronze medal for India is satisfying. Next time I hope to win a gold medal,” Priya said.

Kapil Pokhariya lost to world champion Turabek Khabibullaev of Uzbekistan in the 90kg semifinal, settling for a bronze.

Impressive show by boxers

In a campaign where some sports have performed below par, the boxers have landed their punches well. India have already improved on their medal haul from the last Asian Games where they won four medals, confirming six medals this time. With three gold-medal bouts to come, India will be looking to the boxing contingent to boost the tally.

Women’s team coach Santiago Nieva had his eyes set on a gold medal from the ring, which was missing from the previous campaign. He will have two opportunities to achieve that target.

The men’s team showing is much better than at 2023 Hangzhou Games, where they had only Narender Berwal’s bronze to show. In Aichi-Nagoya, it is bronze for Narender and Kapil while Ankush is in the final.

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