Indian boxers Parveen Hooda and Ankush Panghal stormed into the gold medal bouts of their respective weight categories with semifinal wins at the Asian Games here on Tuesday.
Parveen defeated China’s Li Shu 5-0 in the 65kg semifinal, before Ankush came from behind to out-punch reigning 75kg world champion Uzbekistan’s Fazliddin Erkinboev 4-1 to book his place in the 80kg summit clash.
With the win, Parveen, whose bronze medal from the previous edition was taken away after the International Testing Agency (ITA) suspended her for 22 months for a whereabouts failure, has now surpassed her performance at Hangzhou.
She has also become only the third Indian female boxer to reach the final after legendary MC Mary Kom, who won the title in 2014, and Lovlina Borgohain, who clinched silver in the previous edition.
Indian boxers have already bettered their four-medal haul from the previous edition, with six pugilists securing medal-round entries here.
Last edition’s bronze medallist Narender
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Asiad 2026: Parveen Hooda, Ankush Panghal reach boxing gold bouts
