Asian Games 2026: Lovlina Borgohain becomes second Indian woman ever to win boxing gold medal

FILE PHOTO: Lovlina Borgohain won the boxing gold medal in the Asian Games 2026. | Photo Credit: AP

Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain upgraded her 2023 Asian Games silver into a gold medal, taking down China’s Bao Ziyi 5-0 in the women’s 75kg category at the Nishio Gymnasium in Japan. She is the first Indian boxer since Mary Kom in Incheon 2014 to climb the top step of the podium.

The Indian, in the blue corner, threw the first set of punches to unsettle the southpaw early on. However, the 2023 world champion was pinned back to the ropes in the dying moments of the first bout as Bao landed a flurry of punches before the bell went off. The move, though, didn’t affect the scoreline, as a split 3-2 verdict awarded the first bout to the Indian.

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Lovlina, who had booked her place in the final after defeating Kazakhstan’s Natalya Bogdanova 3–2 in a closely fought semifinal, used her jabs and hooks to good effect in the second bout to throw Bao off. The Chinese pugilist, however, kept weaving in in her efforts to land a body blow from close quarters. A cagey affair eventually went Lovlina‘s way again via a 4-1 split decision.

Bao, the Asian Championships gold medallist, realising she needed to do something special at this point, went on an attacking spree in the final bout, but this is where Lovlina’s defensive genius came into the fore.

Published on Oct 02, 2026

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