India's ace pugilist Ankush Panghal has etched his name in the history books on Friday, becoming the first Indian man to win a boxing gold medal at the Asian Games 2026.
The Haryana boxer faced South Korea's Minseong Kim in the men's 80kg final and produced a dominant performance to secure a one-sided 5-0 victory.
The 21-year-old started strongly, winning the opening round by 4-1. He maintained his control in the second round, with all five judges scoring it in his favour.
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The Indian boxer continued his dominance in the final round as well, securing another 4-1 verdict to complete a comfortable win and claim the gold medal.
Ankush came from behind to out-punch reigning 75kg world champion Fazliddin Erkinboev of Uzbekistan 4-1 in the semifinal to book his place in the 80kg gold-medal bout.
He has also become the first Indian male boxer since Amit Panghal to win an Asian Games gold medal. Panghal had claimed gold at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
With Ankush's victory, India's boxing campaign at this year's Asian Games has also come to an end. Indian boxers won six medals at the Games, including three gold and three bronze medals.
The three gold medals also marked India's best-ever gold-medal performance in boxing at the Asian Games. India's best overall boxing medal haul came at the Guangzhou, China, 2010 edition, where the contingent won nine medals — two gold, three silver and four bronze.
Earlier on Friday, Lovlina Borgohain defeated China's Ziyi Bao 5-0 on her 29th birthday to upgrade the silver medal she had won at the previous edition.
Parveen Hooda then edged Paris Olympic bronze medallist Chen Nien-Chin of Chinese Taipei 3-2 in a split decision to claim her maiden Asian Games gold.
Priya Ghanghas (60kg), Kapil Pokhariya (90kg) and Narender Berwal (+90kg) won bronze medals for India in this edition of the Asian Games.
The strong showing at the continental event comes on the back of a record-breaking campaign by Indian boxers at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow earlier this year, where they won 10 medals — seven gold and three silver.
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