Indian Boxers Shine With Three Gold Medals at Nagoya Event

Twenty-one-year-old Ankush Panghal won a gold medal for India in the 80kg category at the Asian Championships 2026 in Nagoya on Thursday. Ankush beat South Korea's Kim Minseong by a split decision of 4-0 in the final. He is the first Indian male boxer to win this top prize since Amit Panghal at the 2018 edition. To reach the final, Ankush fought back from behind to defeat Uzbekistan's Fazliddin Erkinboev, who is the reigning 75kg world champion, with a score of 4-1. Lovlina Borgohain also won a gold medal on her 29th birthday by defeating China's Ziyi Bao 5-0, turning the silver she won at the last edition into gold. At the previous games, Lovlina had lost the final to China's Li Qian. Parveen added another gold for India by winning a close 3-2 match against Chen Nien-chin of Chinese Taipei, who is a Paris Olympic bronze-medallist. Priya Ghanghas in the 60kg event, Kapil Pokhariya in the 90kg event, and Narender Berwal in the over-90kg category each won bronze medals. India finished the campaign with a total of six medals, including three gold finishes. This sets a new record for the country's best-ever gold performance at this continental event. The previous highest medal haul for India was nine medals at the Guangzhou 2010 edition, which included two gold, three silver, and four bronze medals. This strong continental performance follows the record-breaking medal run by Indian boxers at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last month.

Context

Continental multi-sport tournaments bring together top athletes from across Asia to compete in various disciplines like boxing, wrestling, and track events. Boxing matches are scored by judges who evaluate clean punches landed, defense, and ring dominance over multiple rounds. Success in these major regional contests often helps athletes build confidence and secure vital ranking points ahead of global competitions like the Olympics.