Lovlina Borgohain Wins Asian Games 2026 Boxing Gold

Lovlina Borgohain ended India’s 12-year wait for an Asian Games women’s boxing gold medal with a unanimous 5-0 victory over China’s Ziyi Bao in the 75kg final on Friday. The Olympic bronze medallist secured the title on her 29th birthday, upgrading the silver medal she won at the previous edition.

The result made Lovlina only the second Indian woman to win an Asian Games boxing gold, following MC Mary Kom’s flyweight title at the 2014 Games in Incheon. It also ensured that her previous final defeat to China’s Li Qian would not be repeated.

“Today is my birthday. It’s a very special birthday, I’m feeling really good,” Lovlina said after the win. “I thought I’d have to gift a gold medal on my birthday. It’s the first time that I got a present for myself. I gave it my all. I didn’t think for a second that I would lose.”

Lovlina takes control after close opening round

The 75kg final began at a fast pace, with Lovlina departing from her usual approach to start aggressively and land punches early. Bao responded with fierce counters, and the Chinese southpaw connected with a couple of combinations as she sought to close the distance.

Lovlina used her considerable height advantage and finished the opening round strongly, landing clean, heavy punches to take the round 3-2. Bao’s pressure and repeated clinches made for a messy contest, but Lovlina found enough space to establish an early edge.

Bao came out aggressively again in the second round, aware that she was trailing and looking to deny Lovlina room to work. Lovlina focused on keeping her opponent at range before finding her timing late in the round. A series of clean blows earned her a 4-1 verdict on the judges’ cards and put her in a strong position heading into the final three minutes.

Lovlina said the final round presented the toughest test of the bout. “It was a very tough fight. But I was always thinking that I just have to win,” she said. “The last round was very tough. I was winning by 2-1 in the first and second round. So I thought I have to just win the third round.”

She added that the matchup brought an added challenge because she had not faced Bao before. “The opponent was very strong. I was playing with her for the first time. So I had no idea how she was going to play. I was motivating myself that I have to win. I don’t want to lose.”

Gold adds to India’s strong boxing showing

The final round followed the established pattern. Bao threw punches in abundance while attempting to force close-range exchanges, but struggled to land cleanly. Lovlina stayed compact defensively, chose her countering opportunities and slowed the pace in the closing stages after building her lead.

Rather than engage unnecessarily, Lovlina kept Bao at distance and saw out the contest to confirm the 5-0 decision. The win was particularly significant after Lovlina’s silver medal at the last Asian Games, when she had lost the final to Li Qian.

India’s boxers had already assured six medals at Aichi-Nagoya, bettering their performance from the previous edition. Priya Ghanghas in 60kg, Kapil Pokhariya in 90kg and Narender Berwal in +90kg won bronze medals, while Parveen Hooda in 65kg and Ankush Panghal in 80kg were set to fight for gold later on Friday.

India’s best Asian Games boxing return remains the nine medals won at Guangzhou 2010, including two gold, three silver and four bronze. Lovlina’s landmark women’s 75kg triumph has added a major gold medal to the current contingent’s continental campaign, which follows Indian boxing’s record-breaking Commonwealth Games showing in Glasgow last month.