Boxer Parveen Hooda secures India's second gold in Aichi-Nagoya
Representing India in the 65 kg category, Parveen Hooda captured a gold medal by overcoming Chinese Taipei's Chen Nien-Chen through a tight 3-2 split decision at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday. Regional sporting competitions like this continental event frequently serve as ultimate testing grounds for athletes preparing for future Olympic cycles. Securing this victory against a former world champion brings significant redemption for Parveen, who previously lost her 2022 bronze medal over a whereabouts failure. During the bout, she established an early lead by taking the first round 5-0 with effective counter-punches. Chen bounced back in the second round, but Parveen maintained her composure in the final exchange to seal the victory.
Fellow boxer Lovlina Borgohain celebrated her 29th birthday by winning the women's 75kg final. She dominated China's Bao Ziyi with a unanimous 5-0 decision, marking India's first boxing gold of the day before Parveen added the second. Both athletes showed remarkable tactical discipline in their respective rings.
India achieved an unexpected victory in women's recurve archery as Kumkum Mohod, Ankita Bhakat, and Kirti Sharma overcame South Korea 5-3 to capture gold. Kumkum later teamed up with Dhiraj Bommadevara to take silver in the mixed recurve event after a 3-5 loss to China. The men's recurve team of Dhiraj, Yashdeep Sanjay Bhoge, and Neeraj Chauhan also added a silver following a 1-5 defeat against South Korea.
Also read: Kumkum and Dhiraj Bag Silver medal in Mixed Recurve Team event in Aichi-Nagoya
In sepaktakraw, the men's quadrant earned a bronze medal following a 0-2 semifinal loss to Japan. Earlier in the tournament, they successfully defeated World Cup winners Myanmar. Meanwhile, sailor Nethra Kumanan captured bronze in the women's dinghy event through superior head-to-head results against Hong Kong's Stephanie Louise Norton. These collective performances have pushed India's overall medal tally to 73, featuring 13 golds, 25 silvers, and 35 bronzes.
With Inputs from Agency Threads and Image Courtesy: ANI
