Asian Games: Parveen Hooda completes golden redemption
The 26-year-old defeated the reigning 65kg Asian Championships gold medallist 3-2 in a high-octane final
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Three years after she won a bronze medal at the Asian Games that was later struck off for a whereabouts failure, boxer Parveen Hooda redeemed herself by winning the 65kg gold medal at the Nishio Gymnasium in Aichi on Friday. The 26-year-old defeated reigning Asian Championships gold medallist from Chinese Taipei, Chen Nien-chin, in a split (3-2) verdict.
The result made her only the third Indian woman after Mary Kom and Lovlina Borgohain to win an Asian Games gold. While Mary Kom won her gold in 2014, Lovlina's 75kg gold came just a few hours before Parveen took the ring.
The face-off against the Paris Olympics bronze medallist was not expected to be easy, and Chen tested Parveen in every aspect. More than once in their exchanges, Parveen was pushed to the ropes or in the corner, but her nimble footwork and relentless offensive game extricated her. Besides her indefatigable spirit, what stood out was Parveen's accuracy. Not afraid to take punches, she repeatedly went in searching for an opening. Chen's guard was tough to breach, but Lovlina's razor-sharp left jab found a way more than once.
Chen returned the treatment in kind, particularly in the second round when her combinations began to land. Parveen kept throwing her punches, connecting few and missing most. The round went to Chen who seemed nicely warmed up to fight to the finish. It was a bit of a contrast from the first round that saw Parveen dominate with her right jabs. A couple of combination punches went through Chen's defence and hit her flush, enough for her to take the round on all five cards.
The final round went decisively Parveen's way, the Indian pugilist finding enough reserves to dig deep and do enough to impress three of the five judges. That was enough for Parveen to complete a 3-2 win and a redemption worth remembering.
The two boxers hugged each other in mutual admiration, fully aware that they had produced a final worthy of the stage.
Shantanu Srivastava is an experienced sports journalist who has worked across print and digital media. He covers cricket and Olympic sports.
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