Discussing India's performance at the Asian Games'26 : Women's Boxing
This Asian Games Edition was by far the most succesful ever edition we've had in Women's Boxing. Before this edition, we have had only Mary Kom as the sole woman to clinch a Gold in Women's Boxing in Asian Games from India; but this edition has somehow tripled our lifetime Gold Medal count. With every Gold Medal, the hopes for an Olympic medal rises dramatically for our people, rightfully so. Let's ldive deeper into the performnace of our girls in this edition of Asian Games!
(Please note that out of the seven weight categories scheduled to be part of LA Olympics'28, 57Kg and 70Kg were not part of this Asian Games. We have 2 elite boxers - Jasmine(57kg) and Arundhati(70Kg) who couldn't participate in these games)
Women's 51 Kg - Sakshi Chaudhary(Lost in RO16)
Sakshi has emerged as an incredible talent after moving down to 51 kg from her usual 54. She got into the limelight after she stunned two-time World Champion and an automatic pick for most people in 51Kg - Nikhat Zareen. Nikhat was massively unlucky with the draw, facing Wu Yu in the first round in Paris, she had a shot at defeating a good part of that field.
Sakshi defeated Nikhat in National Trials in May in a split decision, which is a very very very good thing in a larger picture. Sakshi, Nikhat and Minakshi (World Silver Medalist at 48Kg, her category isn't in Olympics either so she moved up) all competed for one spot, which is a great headache to have for us. They all are elite. Sakshi clinched Gold in CWG but the competition in 51 at Asian Games is already close to Olympics level so this was expected to be a dramatic ramp in terms of difficulty.
Sakshi faced Paris Olympics bronze medalist Aira Villegas(Philippines) in her RO32 bout and won it unanimously 5-0, before facing reigning world champion Balkibekova (Kazakhstan) losing narrowly 2-3 in a split decision. I have no issues in saying that Sakshi is currently the best shot we have at 51 seeing her few bouts, but the competition she faces is much much harder than Balkibekova. Balkibekova isn't even the best from Kazakhstan as Kyzaibay(Paris Oly SIlver Medalist) competed at 54 in these games, and would surely cut down to 51 leading upto LA Olympics. Competition gets much harder and harder when you consider Raksat(Thailand), Cakiroglu(Turkey) and Wu Yu(China) are yet to be defeated by Sakshi. You need to defeat one of them definitely in order to win a medal in Olympics, unless you are hoping for a miracle of a draw.
Flyweight is currently insanely competitive. Wu Yu looks unbeatable for most parts, but on careful analysis, one can find some gaps to exploit. Sakshi with her explosive style can surely take on the best, but I was hoping for her to defeat Balkibekova at least Nguyen(Vietnam) in Quarter-Finals who defeated Balkibekova unanimously (Nguyen has been defeated by Nikhat often if that matters). You need to be at the top of your game to think about medalling in Olympics at 51 currently; Kazakova (UZB, former Asian Champion, World Bronze medalist), who looked amazing in her 2 bouts, in one where she defeated Raksat unanimously, ended up losing to Wu Yu unanimously in Semis. Sakshi needs to improve for now.
I rate her performance as average, but she will surely level up from here and kill some giants like Cakiroglu/Raksat by next year's World Championships.
Women's 54Kg - Preeti Pawar (Lost in RO16)
Just like flyweight (51Kg), Bantamweight (54Kg) is insanely competitive currently.
Preeti looked like a notch above everyone else in the CWG'26. But it was expected that her winning run would end at some point in the Asian Games, depending on the draw. Sadly, her draw was no easier, she faced the defending Asian Games champion and two-time former World Champion Pang-Chol Mi (North Korea), who felt like the toughest opponent she could've faced in her bracket. On a pretty expected line, she lost a unanimous bout, though she'd hoped to attack a bit more in the first two rounds to at least force a split decision.
Please note that the defending Olympic Champion in Bantamweight and possibly the best 54Kg boxer of the last half decade or so, Chang Yuan (China) didn't participate in these Asian Games. Less is known about China on the non-Chinese world of the internet, but China has seemed to move away from her and gave her an important tourism and cultural position in the ministry for her province. China has prepared a much younger squad targeting the LA Olympics so I doubt we'llsee much of Chang Yuan anymore.
Pang Chol Mi defeated everyone unanimously, including two bouts with the referee stopping the contest. She also defeated the newer Chinese Boxer Zhao Xuan in the semis unanimously. In the other bracket, Huang (Tokyo Bronze medalist, former world champion) and Namiki faced each other (Tokyo Bronze medalist) where Namiki won, till semis where she ultimately lost to 22yo Chongprongklang(Thailand), relatively unknown boxer. The thai boxer ultimately went on to defeat Pang in Finals on a 4-1 split decision.
The point of bringing so much context to this category is to show the level of contest in bantamweight. Preeti has potential, no denying that, but the Asian wall looks way too hard to break for now. Of course, you can never say never, but Preeti will need something special to defeat Pang/Chang/Huang/Namiki. Expect Turkey, South American countries, or even Korea to send a few more elite boxers in the time span of 2 years.
I rate Preeti's performance as average. She fought one bout where she lost convincingly on all fronts without putting up much of a fight.
Women's 60 Kg- Priya Ghanghas(Bronze Medal)
20yo Priya is definitely a very interesting prospect currently. In 60kg(Lightweight), I believe the experience weighs in a lot compared to the lighter weight categories as you need to be a bit smarter to outclass your opponent. Priya had a decent year, defeating Lucy and Marie Bathoul; both have decent experience and are pretty young like her. But I'd rate her breakthrough performance from April, where she defeated Chengyu(China) in the quarter-finals.
Priya had a decent bracket. Petecio (Paris Bronze in 57Kg), whom she might've met in Semis before Petecio got blanked by China No.2 Yang Chengyu(former World Champion), why Yang Wenlu(defending Asian Games champion and Paris Oly Silver medalist) probably because China is going with younger blood now. Priya faced veteran Korean Yeonji Oh in RO16 and Samadova (UZB) in Quarter-Finals, both bouts where she looked way above their level and won it unanimously. She ultimately fell to Yang Chengyu in Semis lines whom she defeated in April already this year, but but but, the best bit about her loss was the scorecard. She lost on a 1-4 split against Chengyu, and she even won the last round on a 3-2 split decision. I think that performance alone puts her up as a very exciting talent to watch out for, and the defeat was just a result of her having an off day. She is only 20 so she has tons of time to mature; I will be surprised if she doesn't make it to LA'28.
Lightweight has a decent Asian competition, but I think the level is on the lower side when you compare it to the other categories we have discussed so far. South America, Europe, and even the UK region is known for producing great talent in this weight category. Defending Olympic Champion Harrington has won back-to-back Olympics and has looked as solid as ever, aged 35 in Paris, but I think LA'28 is out of her reach. The same can be said about Yang Wenlu(China, Paris Silver Medalist) who will be 37 and Ferreira(Brazil, Paris Bronze medalist), who will be pushing well into mid-30s.
I rate Priya's performance as decent. She should've defeated Chengyu in the semis, but I will take losing a bout like this, which goes neck and neck in spite of the scoreline.
Women's 65Kg - Parveen Hooda (Gold)
Parveen Hooda had a comeback for the ages in this edition. She was banned for 22 months for a whereabouts violation, and all her results were suspended from 2022 end to 2024, and her Asian Games'22 medal was stripped from her. She was forced to skip the Paris Olympics and became eligible to compete only in July 2025.
Parveen had a very tough bracket which involved Khamidova (World Silver medalist), Abikeyeva(defending World Champion), Li Shu (China), Hwang(North Korea) and Suwannapheng(Thailand, Paris Bronze medalist). Again, Yang Liu(Paris Olympic Silver medalist) was not selected by China for this, most likely being in her mid-30s and China going for a younger squad.
Parveen received a walkover against Nozimova(TJK) in RO16 and was going to face Khamidova (World Silver medalist, 2x Asian Champion) and I believed it to be curtains for Parveen here...I had to refresh the results page multiple times and check the thread comments for confirmation that Parveen took the bout unanimously against Khamidova. Definitely didn't see that coming. She was expected to face Abikeyeva in Semis but she lost to Li Shu, which speaks volumes about Chinese boxing depth.
Parveen was put to some challenge against Li Shu, where she had to absorb some punches, but ultimately she won the bout unanimously to enter the Finals, where she was drawn to face Chen Nien-Chin (Taiwan). Chen was a prodigy, winning Youth Olympics silver at 17 in 2014, World Medalist, former Asian Champion and Paris Olympics Bronze Medalist. Chen was defeated only by Li Shu in the semis at the Paris Olympics. I expected it to be a close bout, pretty much 50-50, and oh boy, I got it right. The bout was an evenly matched bout between two exceptionally skilled boxers. Parveen took the first set unanimously even though she absorbed great punches but delivered more. She lost some momentum in the second round and ended up losing it anonymously. After two sets, all the judges were tied on scores and it was up for grabs for both boxers. Parveen edged by a razor-thin margin and clinched the set and ultimately the match 3-2 to clinch Gold!
This weight class had high-action drama in Paris Olympics. Remember Imane Khelif? Okay, the name doesn't remember a ring? Remember that boxer who was doubted to be a male? Yeah, same person. World boxing has banned her from their events till she takes a gender test
The competition in this Asian Games for this weight category was very close to the Olympics. Imane Khelif (Olympic Champion Paris), Suremeneli(Olympic Champion Tokyo), Sasha(England, CWG'26 Gold, defeated Parveen in Finals) and Hamori (Hungary) are a few misses, but having Chen, Suwannapheng, Khamidova, and Hwang Hyo Sun is very close to the Olympics. Parveen is blessed with a great frame and a decent height for 65kgs, and she definitely has it in her to reach deep into the Olympics.
I rate this performance of Parveen as excellent, 10/10.
Women's 75 Kg - Lovlina Boroghain(Gold)
I have a lot to talk about this weight category and how exciting it will be in the LA Olympics'28 for us; I will still control my emotions a bit and write a level-headed take in brief on what I think about this.
First things first, Lovlina's arch rival, Li Qian(Paris Olympic Champion, 3x Oly medalist, defending Asian Games Champion) wasn't picked up for selection by China for these games; the reasons remain the same - picking up a younger squad for the future. Li Qian would be 38 in LA'28 so it's clear that China has sidelined her and picked up another explosive boxer - Bao Ziyi, a 20-year-old aggressive middleweight boxer who didn't lose a single bout before these Asian Games.
Lovlina was coming off a lean patch into this Asian Games'26. She was coming back from an injury and was defeated in the Finals of CWG by Greentree(Australia), which was surely a surprise for me as I didn't take Greentree as a strong opponent. She was very slow in her bout, and it looked like she was just not in the zone. I remember saying in the thread that she would never be able to defeat the likes of Li Qian, or even Bogdanova, with this gameplay; she proved me wrong in a month haha.
The 75Kg draw had only 8 boxers. Lovlina faced Seong (Korea) in Quarter-Finals and she was expected to be an easy opponent, but you never know with Lovlina's form, she did end up winning it unanimously though. In the semis, she was up against Bogdanova (defending World Champion in 70 kg). I expected it to be a close bout, even on Lovlina's side, because Bogdanova has kept moving up recently; she competed in 66 in Asian Games'22 and 70 in 2025 World Championships, and moving up does take a lot of time to be at the same level again, and you just can't offset for your height (5'9). They had a very close bout, and Lovlina took it narrowly with a split 3-2 decision; it could've gone either way!
In the Finals, she met Ziyi Bao, the young, explosive boxer from China, a replacement for Li Qian. Lovlina looked the best she had in years. Bao launched an aggressive attack, and if you ask a layman to score the bout, they might even give Bao the bout unanimously. Bao's punches weren't just landing properly and Lovlina had a very strong defence in the first two rounds. Lovlina, with her long reach and height had a great advantage and kept landing 1-2 now and then. She won the bout unanimously and gave Ziyi her first defeat of her amateur boxing career!
Now, talking about the future, LA'28 is shaping up very nicely for Lovlina. Competition in 75 is looking a bit on the weaker side for now, and the strongest boxers we've seen recently are either beatable for Lovlina or just won't be the same skill-wise in LA'28 due to age. Caitlin (Australia, Paris Oly Bronze) and Ngamba(England, Paris Oly Bronze) are both beatable for Lovlina given her style. Li Qian is unexpected to be seen again; Atheyna(Paris Silver Medalist, lost to Li Qian in the finals) will be 39 by the Olympics. Bogdanova in an obvious threat, so is Ziyi Bao, heard some time back that Surmeneli (Tokyo Gold Medalist, defeated Lovlina in Semis) could also move up. Will be very very exciting but I'd be hoping at least for a medal from Lovlina in LA'28!
Up next, Archery!
Please comment your opinions about Women's Boxing in comments. What is your opinion about them? Also sorry guys, I was busy with work. I am on notice period so I think I should stop giving less eff about work. Take care guys!
