2 years after missing out on a medal, Parveen Hooda returns to win the Asian Games gold

India’s Parveen Hooda defeated Paris Olympics bronze medalist Chen Nien-chin to clinch the gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games. Competing in the women’s 65kg boxing category, Parveen defeated Chen by a 3-2 split. It was a nerve-wracking encounter where Parveen started well, fell behind and eventually took home the champion crown.

It was a comeback for the Indian boxer, who was stripped of her Asian Games bronze medal three years ago for a mistake in her whereabouts.

Asian Games Live: October 2nd Update

Courtesy: AP

WHY WAS PARVEEN’S MEDAL REMOVED?

Parveen, who was suspended for 22 months after committing three whereabouts errors in 12 months, was returning to the Asian Games after missing out on the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The International Testing Agency (ITA) confirmed that Parveen’s suspension was effective until 16 July 2025. As part of the sanction, her results between 11 December 2022 and 17 May 2024 were disqualified, meaning she lost the bronze medal she won at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

The suspension also made her ineligible for the Paris Olympics, where she had hoped to make her Games debut.

Parveen had been preparing for the occasion before the suspension. She won bronze at the 2022 World Championships and gold at the 2022 Asian Boxing Championships, adding an Asian Games bronze later that year.

PARVEEN RETURNS TO GET ASIAN GAMES GOLD

Her return to competitive boxing came after nearly two years away from the sport. She worked her way back into the national set-up and won gold at the 2025 Boxing World Cup Final.

Another setback came at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where Parveen lost in the quarter-finals to England’s Sacha Hickey and returned without a medal.

She came to Nagoya with another opportunity to make a name for herself.

Parveen defeated China’s Li Shu 4-1 in the semi-finals to reach the women’s 65kg final, becoming only the third Indian boxer to reach the Asian Games final.

MC Mary Kom won gold in women’s boxing in 2014, while Lovlina Borgohain won silver at the previous edition in Hangzhou.

In the final, Parveen faced Chen, who had won bronze at the Paris Olympics. The Chinese Taipei boxer brought considerable experience to the contest, but Parveen started strongly and soon took the initiative.

Chen fought back as the match continued and managed to put Parveen under pressure. However, the Indian boxer remained in the contest and continued to fight every round.

The close nature of the match was reflected in the final verdict, with the judges splitting 3-2 in favor of Parveen.

The gold medal adds another major achievement to Parveen’s career after her World Championship bronze and Asian Championship gold in 2022. More importantly, it comes after a period in which she missed out on the Asian Games medal she won, missed the Paris Olympics and had to rebuild her career after suspension. This time, Parveen leaves the Asian Games with gold.

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