Birthday girl Lovlina Borgohain wins maidel boxing gold at Asian Games; second Indian female to achieve feat
PTC News Desk: Lovlina Borgohain celebrated her 29th birthday in the best possible way by winning gold at the 2026 Asian Games. The Indian boxer defeated China’s Ziyi Bao 5-0 in the women’s 75kg final to claim her first Asian Games gold.
With this victory, Lovlina became only the second Indian woman boxer to win Asian Games gold, after legendary boxer MC Mary Kom. Mary won the 51kg title at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
Lovlina had won silver at the previous Asian Games after losing to China’s Li Qian in the final.
In Friday’s final, Bao started aggressively and used quick punches to counter Lovlina’s height and reach advantage. Lovlina remained composed, defended well and looked for opportunities to land accurate jabs and hooks.
Lovlina had a narrow lead after the first round, with three judges scoring it in her favour. She then took control of the second and third rounds, with four of the five judges giving her the edge in each round.
The win adds another major achievement to the career of the former Olympic bronze medallist.
Women Archery team also strikes gold
The Indian women’s recurve archery team has created history by winning gold at the 2026 Asian Games. Ankita Bhakat, Kirti and Kumkum Mohod defeated strong contenders South Korea in the final, taking India’s gold medal tally to 11.
India had earlier beaten China 5-1 in the semifinal to reach the Asian Games final for the first time. The opening two sets were closely fought, with both teams level at 54 and 56 points. South Korea then struggled in the third set, scoring 52 after hitting three consecutive 8s. India took advantage, scoring 55 to move ahead 4-2.
South Korea responded in the fourth set with 54 points. India also scored 54, with Kirti’s initial 8 upgraded to a 9 after a review. The result was enough for India to win the set and secure a historic victory.
The achievement is especially significant because South Korea are the reigning Olympic champions and have won 10 Olympic gold medals in women’s recurve archery. At the Paris Olympics in 2024, India had finished fourth.
- PTC NEWS
