Triple punch: Lovlina, Parveen, Ankush strike Asian Games gold

Indian boxers clinch three gold medals at Asian Games, finish with record haul

Indian boxers produced a memorable finish at the Asian Games on Friday, winning three gold medals through Lovlina Borgohain, Parveen Hooda and Ankush Panghal in their respective finals.

Lovlina won the women’s 75kg title by defeating China’s Ziyi Bao 5-0 on her 29th birthday, while Parveen secured the 65kg gold after edging Chinese Taipei’s Paris Olympic bronze medallist Chen Nien-chin 3-2 in a split decision.

Ankush completed India’s gold-medal hat-trick with a 4-0 victory over South Korea’s Kim Minseong in the men’s 80kg final.

The victories ended a 12-year wait for Indian women’s boxing at the Asian Games. Lovlina and Parveen joined the elite group of Indian women boxers to win continental gold, following MC Mary Kom, who claimed the 51kg title at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.

Ankush’s triumph was equally significant as he became the first Indian male boxer since Amit Panghal in 2018 to win an Asian Games gold medal.

India finished the boxing competition with six medals, including three gold, marking the country’s best-ever gold-medal performance in boxing at the Asian Games. The previous best came at the 2010 Guangzhou Games, where Indian boxers won nine medals, including two gold, three silver and four bronze.

Lovlina, who had won silver at the previous edition after losing to China’s Li Qian in the final, used her height advantage effectively against Bao. The Chinese boxer repeatedly attempted to close the distance, but Lovlina maintained her range, landed cleaner punches and controlled the contest.

After a closely fought opening round, Lovlina established her advantage in the second by finding her range and connecting with a series of accurate shots. She remained disciplined defensively in the final round, countering when opportunities arose before slowing the pace in the closing stages to secure the unanimous decision.

“It’s a very special birthday. I thought I’d have to gift a gold medal on my birthday. It’s the first time that I got a present for myself,” Lovlina said after the victory.

Parveen, meanwhile, held her nerve in a closely contested final against Chen to claim her maiden Asian Games gold.

India also won three bronze medals through Priya Ghanghas in the 60kg category, Kapil Pokhariya in the 90kg category and Narender Berwal in the +90kg division.

The strong Asian Games campaign comes shortly after Indian boxers recorded a historic medal haul at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last month.

With inputs from PTI