Lovlina makes history with second successive Asian Games final; Priya, Kapil win bronze
Lovlina Borgohain on Wednesday became the first Indian woman boxer to reach back-to-back Asian Games finals, while debutants Priya Ghanghas and Kapil Pokhariya signed off with bronze medals after semifinal defeats here.
Lovlina, the 2023 silver medallist, edged reigning 70kg world champion Natalya Bogdanova of Kazakhstan 3-2 in a closely fought 75kg semifinal to assure herself of at least a silver medal.
The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist will face China's Ziyi Bao in Friday's final.
Lovlina had started cautiously against Bogdanova and lost the opening round 3-2 on the judges' cards. She responded strongly in the second, increasing her aggression and landing cleaner punches to sweep the round 5-0.
The Kazakh came forward in the decider, but Lovlina relied on her defence and counter-attacks. Bogdanova edged the round 3-2, but the Indian had done enough to secure a split-decision victory, leading on three of the five judges' scorecards.
Lovlina had lost the middleweight final at the previous Asian Games to China's Li Qian.
India will have three boxers fighting for gold on Friday, with Lovlina joined by Parveen Hooda in the 65kg category and Ankush Panghal in the 80kg division.
Priya, meanwhile, could not overcome the experience of former world champion Yang Chengyu of China, going down 1-4 in the 60kg semifinal.
The 20-year-old Indian, competing in her first Asian Games, started aggressively and responded to Yang's attacks with counter-punches. But despite throwing a high volume of punches, she struggled to land with sufficient accuracy.
The reigning Asian and Commonwealth Games champion improved in the second round, taking the initiative early and showing greater composure, but Yang continued to find the cleaner punches.
The Chinese boxer maintained her advantage in the final round to seal a 4-1 victory and leave Priya with bronze.
"I feel better because it's the first Asian Games where I won a bronze medal for India. So next time I hope I win a gold medal," Priya said.
"I will train very hard for next time, and I am sure I will win a gold medal for India at the Asian Games and the next world championship also. I am very proud of myself because this is my first Asian Games," she added.
Kapil also finished with bronze after losing 1-4 to reigning world champion Turabek Khabibullaev of Uzbekistan in the 90kg semifinal.
The Indian debutant was solid defensively but struggled to generate enough attacking pressure against Turabek, who seized the initiative early with quick combinations.
Kapil landed some clean punches, but Turabek was more precise and connected with a strong punch to the Indian's face. The Uzbek then used his movement effectively in the closing stages, picking his moments rather than getting drawn into unnecessary exchanges.
Kapil could not produce the late surge required to overturn the deficit as Turabek closed out the bout 4-1 and advanced to the final.
India's boxing medal tally has already surpassed its haul from the previous Asian Games.
The country is assured of six medals in the current edition, compared with four in 2023, when Indian boxers won one silver and three bronze.
Besides Priya and Kapil, super-heavyweight Narender Berwal has also secured a bronze medal.
With Lovlina, Parveen and Ankush still in contention for gold, India will have three opportunities to add to its boxing medal tally in Friday's finals.
