Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain won the women’s 75kg gold at Asian Games with win over Ziyi Bao of China on Friday. Olympic medallist Lovlina defeated Bao by a 5-0 unanimous decision in Nishio, Japan.
With the win, Lovlina became only the second Indian woman after legendary MC Mary Kom to win an Asian Games boxing gold. Mary Kom had won the flyweight (51kg) title at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
Borgohain’s father, Tiken Borgohain, says, “We are absolutely delighted and overjoyed because she won the final today. Today also happens to be her birthday… This is her first Asian Games gold medal… She has worked incredibly hard. She had spoken about winning this gold. She had previously won a silver medal and wanted to change its colour. So seeing that colour change now feels wonderful. I am very happy, and on her behalf, I want to thank all my fellow countrymen. So many people prayed for this, and I am deeply grateful to everyone.”
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Indian boxers have bettered their performance from the last edition by assuring six medals in Aichi-Nagoya. Priya Ghanghas (60kg), Kapil Pokhariya (90kg) and Narender Berwal (+90kg) won bronze medals, while Parveen Hooda (65kg) and Ankush Panghal (80kg) will fight for gold later in the day.
India’s best-ever boxing performance at the Asian Games came at Guangzhou 2010, when the contingent won nine medals — two gold, three silver and four bronze. The strong showing in the continental event comes on the back of India’s record breaking campaign at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last month.
On boxer Lovlina Borgohain winning a gold medal in the women’s 75kg category at the Asian Games 2026, Ajay Singh, President of the Boxing Federation of India, told news agency ANI, “It’s a moment of great pride for all of us. She boxed wonderfully well. After all the criticism that she faced in the Commonwealth Games, to come back so strongly shows her great resolve, mental strength, and physical strength. She’s made us all very proud today and has become a huge role model for girls in the entire country… this is the best birthday gift she could have given herself and to all of us… She went through a very difficult period physically, mentally…”
He adds, “We have two more finals. We have a reasonable chance. Actually, our toughest bout today was Lovlina’s bout. So we hope that at least one of those two will be converted to gold.”
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