Nishio, October 2, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Ankush Panghal clinched the gold medal in the men’s 80kg boxing final with a commanding 4-0 victory over South Korea’s Minseong Kim at the Nishio Gymnasium on Friday, bringing India’s successful boxing campaign at the Asian Games to a close.
Ankush dominated the bout from the opening bell, with four of the five judges scoring the contest 30-26 in his favour, while the fifth judge recorded a 28-28 draw. Kim was also docked a point following a warning in the opening round.
The Indian boxer started strongly, winning the first round 4-1 with aggressive and well-directed punches. He stepped up his performance in the second round, securing a 5-0 verdict by combining sharp one-two combinations with effective counterattacks.
Although Kim managed to land some punches, Ankush maintained control of the contest. The Indian continued to blend defence with attack in the third round, winning it 4-1 to seal the bout with a 4-0 verdict.
Ankush’s triumph completed India’s strong boxing campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, with the country’s pugilists securing three gold and three bronze medals for a total of six.
Parveen Hooda and Lovlina Borgohain were the other Indian boxers to win gold medals at the Games.
Parveen clinched gold in a closely contested women’s final against Nien-chin Che of Chinese Taipei. The Rohtak-born boxer began confidently, winning the opening round 5-0, but Che fought back to take the second round by the same margin.
In the deciding third round, Parveen kept her composure and secured a 3-2 verdict to win the contest by a split 3-2 decision.
With the victory, Parveen became the third Indian woman to win an Asian Games boxing gold medal, after legendary MC Mary Kom, who won the women’s 51kg event at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, and Lovlina, who had secured her gold earlier on Friday.
Lovlina, who turned 29 on Friday, won India’s first women’s boxing gold at the Asian Games in 12 years by defeating China’s Ziyi Bao 5-0 in the women’s 75kg final.
The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist improved on her silver-medal finish at the 2022 Asian Games with a dominant performance against Bao, securing a memorable birthday gift.
India also won three bronze medals in boxing at the Games. Kapil Pokhariya in the men’s 90kg category, Narender Berwal in the men’s +90kg category and Priya Ghanghas in the women’s 60kg category secured bronze after reaching the semifinals, where they lost their respective bouts.
India fielded 11 boxers at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Sakshi Chaudhary, competing in the women’s 51kg category, lost in the round of 16 to reigning world champion Alua Balkibekova of Kazakhstan.
Preeti Pawar (women’s 54kg) was defeated by North Korea’s Pang Chol Mi in the pre-quarterfinals, while Jadumani Singh (men’s 55kg) lost to Carlo Paalam of the Philippines at the same stage.
Sachin Siwach, competing in the men’s 60kg category, was eliminated by Japan’s Shunsuke Kitamoto in the quarterfinals, while Sumit Kundu (men’s 70kg) lost to Iran’s Ali Qasim Al-Sarray in the pre-quarterfinals.
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