AICHI-NAGOYA: Ankush Panghal continued India’s gold rush at the Asian Games on Friday, sealing India’s third boxing gold of the day, beating Kim Min-seong of South Korea in the men’s 80 kg final on Friday. This is India’s 74rd medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, with 14 golds, 25 silver medals and 35 bronze medals.
The reigning Commonwealth Games champion was at his dominant best, becoming the first Indian man to secure an Asian Games boxing gold since Amit Panghal way back in 2018, as per ESPN.
Ankush started well with a couple of right hook attempts into Kim’s body, and the Korean tried to maintain his distance and counterpunch as Ankush kept up his aggression. The Indian managed a couple of uppercuts, and a warning point to Kim worked in the Indian’s favour. The Indian packed a lot of power into his punches, and despite a late rally from his opponent, Ankush took the first round 4-1.
Ankush continued his aggressive approach in the second round, with some quick 1-2s and was dancing really well in the ring. Both pugilists landed some body shots as their defence looked weak. Ankush’s counter-punches kept him in a great position. A slugfest in the end came, but Ankush still won the second round 5-0, leading the score 20-17 among four judges.
THREE FINALS. THREE GOLDS. INDIA JUST WENT 3-FOR-3 IN BOXING. 🇮🇳🥇🥇🥇🔥
And Ankush Panghal delivered the final punch.
The Indian boxer defeated South Korea’s Kim Minseong 4-0 in the men’s 80kg final to claim GOLD at Aichi-Nagoya.
But look at what happened today:
🥇 Final 1 —… pic.twitter.com/B564MyVxM6
— Anil Bansal (@dilseanilbansal) October 2, 2026
In the final round, Kim continued to counter-punch, duck, bob and weave as Ankush maintained his lead across four judges. Kim landed a few fair punches and a fast left uppercut. But his defence was weak, and he took a few body hits as well. At the end of the round, Ankush was adjudged the winner.
Earlier, Indian boxer Parveen Hooda secured the second boxing gold of the day for India, defeating Chinese Taipei’s Chen Nien-Chen in the final of the women’s 65 kg event at the ongoing Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Friday.
Parveen secured the gold medal by 3-2 via split decision, making it the second gold for the nation in boxing after Olympic medalist Lovlina Borgohain’s women’s 75 kg gold. After having lost her 2022 Asian Games bronze due to a doping whereabouts failure, this win over a former world champion for a gold marks a massive redemption for the Indian, as per ESPN.
Also, India’s sepaktakraw team got a reason to rejoice at the back end of the Asian Games 2026 campaign as the men’s quadrant secured a bronze medal after a defeat to Japan in the semifinal of their event.
The Indian men’s quadrant of Malemnganba Singh Sorokhaibam, Ram Kumar Sharma, Bobby Kumar and Akash Yumnam secured the bronze, losing 0-2 (12-15, 13-15) to Japan in the semis, as per ESPN.
This marks India’s third medal in sepaktakraw at the Asian Games, having previously won two bronze medals: in the men’s team regu in the 2018 edition in Jakarta and the 2022 edition bronze in the women’s team regu event.
The Indian quadrant enjoyed a great run to the medal, beating the World Cup winners Myanmar in the group stage and making sure that the contingent did not return home empty-handed.
Earlier, to start off the day, India produced a stunning upset in women’s recurve archery as Kumkum Mohod, Ankita Bhakat and Kirti Sharma defeated South Korea 5-3 in the gold medal match at the Asian Games 2026 on Friday to claim the country’s first-ever medal in the discipline at the continental showpiece.
The Indian trio held their nerve against the dominant South Korean side, with 17-year-old Kumkum emerging as the star of the final and delivering two crucial 10s in the closing stages to seal a historic victory, according to ESPN.
Kumkum Mohod and Dhiraj Bommadevara settled for silver in the mixed recurve archery team event at the Asian Games 2026 after losing 3-5 to China’s Zhu Jingyi and Li Mengqi in the gold-medal match.
Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain celebrated her 29th birthday in memorable fashion as she defeated China’s Bao Ziyi 5-0 in the women’s 75kg final to win the gold medal on Friday.
Indian sailor Nethra Kumanan secured the bronze medal in the women’s dinghy event at the Asian Games 2026 on Friday, adding another medal to India’s sailing haul at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
Nethra recovered strongly in the second and final race of the finals after a difficult opening race to finish on the podium. She ended level on points with Hong Kong’s Stephanie Louise Norton, but her superior head-to-head results against Norton gave her the bronze medal.
The medal adds to India’s impressive performance in sailing at the Asian Games, with Indian sailors having already won medals in the men’s and women’s skiff events.
In the third recurve archery medal of the day, India secured a silver medal in the men’s recurve team event at the Asian Games 2026 after losing 1-5 to South Korea in the final here on Friday, adding another medal to a memorable day for the country’s archers.
Dhiraj Bommadevara, Yashdeep Sanjay Bhoge and Neeraj Chauhan were unable to replicate the women’s team’s earlier upset over South Korea, as the Koreans’ consistency under pressure proved decisive, according to ESPN. (ANI)
