Lovlina, Parveen End India’s 12-Year Wait For Boxing Gold
Lovlina Borgohain and Parveen Hooda ended India’s 12-year wait for women’s boxing gold at the Asian Games with contrasting victories in their respective finals in Nishio on Friday.
Lovlina defeated China’s Ziyi Bao 5-0 in the women’s 75kg final on her 29th birthday, upgrading the silver medal she won at the previous edition. Parveen followed with a hard-fought 3-2 split-decision victory over Chinese Taipei’s Paris Olympics bronze medallist Chen Nien-chin to capture the women’s 65kg title.
The victories placed both Indian boxers alongside legendary MC Mary Kom, the country’s first woman to win Asian Games boxing gold, having claimed the 51kg title in 2014.
Lovlina Borgohain Wins Maiden Asian Games Gold
Lovlina produced a composed performance against the younger Chinese boxer, making effective use of her height and reach advantage to control the contest.
Bao attempted to close the distance and put Lovlina under pressure with aggressive attacks. However, the Indian responded with sharp counters and clean punches to take the opening round 3-2.
The second round followed a similar pattern. While Bao continued pressing forward, Lovlina found her range towards the end of the round and landed a series of accurate punches to secure it 4-1 on the judges’ scorecards.
With a lead established, Lovlina remained disciplined in the final round, defending against Bao’s attacks and choosing her moments to counter. She avoided unnecessary exchanges in the closing stages to complete a unanimous 5-0 victory.
The win was particularly meaningful for Lovlina, who had lost the final at the previous Asian Games to China’s Li Qian.
“Today is my birthday. It’s a very special birthday, I’m feeling really good. 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. I gave it my all. I didn’t think for a second that I would lose,” she said after the bout.
Parveen Hooda Claims Maiden Asian Games Title
Parveen Hooda also secured her first Asian Games gold medal after overcoming a formidable opponent in the women’s 65kg final.
The Indian faced Chinese Taipei’s Chen Nien-chin, a bronze medallist at the Paris Olympics, in a closely contested bout that went down to a split decision.
Parveen had booked her place in the final with a commanding 5-0 semifinal victory over China’s Li Shu. Against Chen, she needed another determined performance to secure the title.
Her 3-2 victory completed a memorable campaign and added another gold medal to India’s boxing tally.
Parveen’s triumph also marked a significant personal achievement after she was stripped of her bronze medal from the 2023 Asian Games following a 22-month suspension for a whereabouts failure.
India’s Boxing Campaign Produces Six Medals
Lovlina and Parveen’s victories helped India end a 12-year wait for women’s boxing gold at the Asian Games.
Indian boxers had already secured six medals at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, including bronze medals for Priya Ghanghas in the women’s 60kg category, Kapil Pokhariya in the men’s 90kg event and Narender Berwal in the men’s +90kg division.
India’s best-ever boxing performance at the Asian Games came at the 2010 Guangzhou edition, where the contingent won nine medals, including two gold, three silver and four bronze.
The strong showing in Japan follows India’s record-breaking boxing campaign at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last month.
