Lovlina to fight for gold; Priya, Kapil settle for bronze

Nishio: Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain advanced to the women’s 75kg final at the Asian Games on September 30, keeping alive her bid for a maiden continental gold, while Priya Ghanghas and Kapil Pokhariya signed off with bronze medals after losing their respective semifinals.

Lovlina defeated Kazakhstan’s Natalya Bogdanova 3-2 in a closely fought semifinal at the Nishio Gymnasium. The Indian, who won silver at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, will now fight for gold on October 2. Her victory also made her the first Indian woman boxer to reach back-to-back Asian Games finals.

Priya, competing in her maiden Asian Games, lost 1-4 to China’s Yang Chengyu in the women’s 60kg semifinal. The 20-year-old put up a strong fight against the more experienced Chinese boxer but had to settle for bronze.

Kapil Pokhariya also ended his campaign with a bronze after suffering a 1-4 defeat against Uzbekistan’s reigning world champion Turabek Khabibullaev in the men’s 90kg semifinal.

India have now secured six boxing medals at the Games, surpassing their tally from the previous edition. Besides Lovlina, Parveen Hooda and Ankush Panghal have also reached their respective finals, while Narender Berwal had earlier secured bronze.