Nishio, Sep 28 (IANS): Indian boxer Priya Ghanghas on Monday assured herself of a medal in the women’s 60kg category after a unanimous 5-0 win over Tajikistan’s Mijgona Samadova in the quarterfinals at the Nishio Gymnasium here.
Priya was trailing 2-3 at the end of the opening round but came from behind in the next two to register a strong 5-0 win to secure at least a bronze for her.
Both Priya and Samadova put up strong performances in the first round. Following a measured start, the Tajik boxer hit a few punches, while Priya also landed a few in the last 90 seconds. However, Samadova, who the bronze medallist from Hangzhou Games in the 57kg, won the opening round 3-2.
Priya was more aggressive in the second round and landed some good combination punches as the Tajik boxer was also given a point penalty. Priya won the second round 5-0 with Samadova given a penalty.
The Tajik boxer looked desperate for a win in the last round and went firing on all cylinders. A few of her punches landed, but Priya also hit some when she saw Samadova on the back foot as the Indian pugilist won the third round 5-0 too. All five judges voted in Priya’s favour, with three ruling 29-27 to Priya and two giving her 30-26 across the three rounds.
Priya will now have a pretty tough competitor to contend with in the semifinal as she faces China’s Yang Chengyu on Wednesday for a place in the gold medal bout. Chengyu is a two-time World Championship medallist, having won a gold in the 2023 AIBA World Championships and a bronze at the 2025 Worlds.
This is now India’s fifth confirmed boxing medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Earlier in the day, Lovlina Borgohain assured herself of a medal with a strong 5-0 win in the women’s 75kg quarterfinal against Korea’s Seong Suyeon.
Borgohain, the 2023 Hangzhou Games silver medallist, now has a second Asiad medal assured after a stellar performance in the quarterfinal of the ongoing continental showpiece.
Earlier, Ankush Panghal and Parveen Hooda also confirmed medals in their respective categories. Ankush, the current Commonwealth Games champion, assured India of their first boxing medal at the ongoing Games after defeating Tajikistan’s Nekruz Salimov in the men’s 80kg quarterfinals by a unanimous decision of 5-0.
Meanwhile, Parveen also booked herself a medal in the women’s 65kg category after defeating Uzbekistan’s Navbakhor Khamidova by 5-0 in the quarterfinal.
