India 2026 Asian Games preview: Can Lovlina, Preeti end gold drought?

ByTech Word News

Indian boxing has barely caught a breath after a record-breaking Commonwealth Games campaign. Seven gold medals and three silvers in Glasgow raised expectations, but the Asian Games is a completely different proposition and the Indian team knows it.

There is an even bigger goal for the women’s team. India has not had a gold in boxing at the Asian Games since MC Mary Kom won the 51kg title in 2014. There have been medals since then, including four in Hangzhou, but no one has managed to take that final step to the top step.

But the timing is interesting. Five of the 11 boxers selected for Aichi-Nagoya won gold in Glasgow, while the other three took silver. Preeti Pawar, Priya Ghanghas and Sakshi Chaudhary all returned with gold medals, while Lovlina Borgohain, Jadumani Singh and Narender Berwal finished with silver. Indian boxers clinched gold medal at CWG, can they do it again at Asian Games? (Photo: PTI)

This Commonwealth Games run was India’s best ever in boxing at the event. It also came with a warning. The Asian Games field is much deeper, with China, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan bringing boxers who regularly compete for world and Olympic medals.

Therefore, Santiago Nieva does not consider Glasgow a guarantee of anything. The Indian head coach wants his boxers in the final and believes they have the quality to challenge for gold, but also spoke about the small differences that decide matches at this level.

There are plenty of reasons for optimism. Preeti and Priya are the reigning Asian champions, Lovlina is an Olympic bronze medalist and former world champion and the likes of Sakshi, Sachin Siwach and Ankush Panghal come after winning Commonwealth Games gold.

For India, it means taking the next step. The Commonwealth Games showed what this group can do. The Asian Games will show how that form holds up as the continent’s strongest teams square off across the ring.

COMPLETE BOXING UNION OF INDIA

India will have 11 boxers in Aichi-Nagoya with five women and six men.

Women

  • Sakshi Chaudhary – 51kg: Gold medalist from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and debutant at the Asian Games.
  • Preeti Pawar – 54kg: Hangzhou bronze medallist, 2026 Asian champion and Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
  • Priya Ghanghas – 60kg: 2026 Asian champion and Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
  • Parveen Hooda – 65kg: Bronze medalist from Hangzhou who moved up from 57kg.
  • Lovlina Borgohain – 75 kg: Olympic bronze medalist from Tokyo, former world champion and silver medalist from Hangzhou.

Men

  • Jadumani Singh – 55 kg: Commonwealth Games silver medallist.
  • Sachin Siwach – 60 kg: Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
  • Sumit Kundu – 70 kg: Asian Games debutant.
  • Ankush Panghal – 80kg: Commonwealth Games gold medalist and Asian Games debutant.
  • Kapil Pokhariya – 90kg: Asian Games debutant.
  • Narender Berwal – +90kg: Hangzhou bronze medalist and Commonwealth Games silver medalist.

The team also shows how the Asian Games schedule changed India’s selection. Commonwealth Games champions Jaismine Lamboria and Arundhati Choudhary are not in Japan as their 57kg and 70kg categories are not part of the Asian Games programme.

PREETI AND PRIYA LEAD THE CHARGE

Preeti Pawar has been here before. She won bronze at the Asian Games in Hangzhou and is returning to competition after a year in which she added gold from the Asian Championships and Commonwealth Games to her haul.

Her 54kg category is also one of the toughest draws India could have wished for. Chinese Taipei’s Huang Hsiao-wen, North Korea’s Pang Chol-mi, Kazakhstan’s Nazim Kyzaibay and China’s Xuan Zhao are among the names in the wider field. Preeti has beaten some of these top opponents before, including Huang, and has been working specifically on counters and body shots before the games. Both Preeti and Priya are India’s best medal hopes at the 2026 Asian Games. (Photo: PTI)

That experience could matter. In Hangzhou, Preeti was still sought after at the highest international level. Two years later, she comes as the Asian and Commonwealth Games champion.

Priya Ghanghas has a similar story though this will be her first Asian Games. The 20-year-old had a great campaign in Glasgow, winning gold in the 60kg and then followed it up with gold in Asia.

The difference this time will be the depth around her. Winning the Commonwealth title has given Priya confidence, but the Asian Games will bring a much wider range of styles and significantly more experienced opposition.

Sakshi Chaudhary is another woman who moved fast. She won the Commonwealth Games gold in the 51 kg category and earned a berth in the Asian Games after defeating Minakshi Hooda in the national trials. Her run included a victory over two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen.

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR FISHING

The story of Lovlina Borgohain at the Asian Games already has one frustrating chapter. She won silver in Hangzhou and will now return in the 75kg category to change the color of that medal.

The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow offered another chance but ended with another silver. Lovlina lost 4-1 to Australia’s Emma-Sue Greentree in a tight final, missing out on what would have been her first Commonwealth Games gold. It was the only blemish on an otherwise extraordinary day for the Indian women who won five boxing gold medals. Can Lovlina turn her CWG silver into Asian Games gold? (Photo: Reuters)

This defeat makes Aichi-Nagoya particularly interesting. Lovlina is not an inexperienced boxer trying to fight her way through the big games. She is an Olympic bronze medalist from Tokyo, a former world champion and a silver medalist from the Asian Games.

He also knows what it’s like to be close without ending up on top.

At 28, it’s another opportunity to add an Asian Games gold to a career that already includes some of the biggest medals in Indian women’s boxing.

Parveen Hooda will provide another experienced option for India in the 65kg category. She won bronze at 57kg in Hangzhou and has since moved up, meaning her campaign will not only be about adjusting to the new weight class, but also about navigating the draw.

SACHIN, ANKUSH LEAD THE MALE CHARGE

The men’s side hasn’t had the same consistency as the women in recent years at major events, but Glasgow has changed the mood around the group.

Sachin Siwach was one of the headliners, winning the Commonwealth Games gold in the 60kg category. He now gets an Asian Games field much stronger than the one he faced in Glasgow and will be among India’s more realistic medal hopes. Jadumani and Ankush will look to carry the CWG momentum to Nagoya. (Photo: PTI)

Ankush Panghal also arrives as Commonwealth champion. His 80kg gold was one of the highlights of the Indian record and despite this being his first Asian Games, he has already shown that he can handle the pressure of a big multi-sport final.

Jadumani Singh will be looking to go one step further after winning silver in Glasgow in the 55kg category. He lost to Australia’s Jay Dixon in the final, but the fight for the gold medal was an important breakthrough.

Then there is Narender Berwal, the most experienced Asian Games boxer in the men’s group. He won bronze in Hangzhou, followed by silver at the Commonwealth Games.

This combination makes Narender particularly interesting in the +90kg division. He has already dealt with the environment of the Asian Games and is now coming back after another big final.

Sumit Kundu and Kapil Pokhariya complete the men’s 70kg and 90kg group. Both will be making their debut at the Asian Games and will have to go through some of the toughest draw categories.

BOXING INDIA SCHEDULE

The boxing competition runs from September 21 to October 2 at Nishio Gymnasium. The schedule below shows the Indian category participating on each day. Since these are preliminary bouts, the boxer listed does not necessarily have to fight on every date his division appears.

September 21

  • Men’s 90kg: Kapil Pokhariya
  • Men over 90kg: Narendra Berwal
  • Men’s 70kg: Sumit Kundu

September 22

  • Women’s 51kg: Sakshi Chaudhary
  • Women’s 54kg: Preeti Pawar
  • Men’s 55kg: Jadumani Singh

September 23rd

  • Men’s 60kg: Sachin Siwach
  • Men’s 80kg: Ankush Panghal

September 24th

  • Men’s 70kg: Sumit Kundu
  • Women’s 51kg: Sakshi Chaudhary
  • Women’s 65kg: Parveen Hooda

September 25th

  • Men’s 60kg: Sachin Siwach
  • Men over 90kg: Narendra Berwal
  • Women’s 54kg: Preeti Pawar

September 26

  • Men’s 55kg: Jadumani Singh
  • Men’s 90kg: Kapil Pokhariya
  • Women under 60kg: Priya Ghanghas

September 27

  • Men’s 80kg: Ankush Panghal
  • Men’s 60kg: Sachin Siwach
  • Men over 90kg: Narendra Berwal
  • Women’s 54kg: Preeti Pawar
  • Women’s 65kg: Parveen Hooda

September 28

  • Men’s 70kg: Sumit Kundu
  • Men’s 55kg: Jadumani Singh
  • Men’s 90kg: Kapil Pokhariya
  • Women’s 51kg: Sakshi Chaudhary
  • Women under 60kg: Priya Ghanghas
  • Women up to 75 kg: Lovlina Borgohain

September 29 – semi-finals

  • Men’s 60kg: Sachin Siwach
  • Men’s 80kg: Ankush Panghal
  • Men over 90kg: Narendra Berwal
  • Women’s 54kg: Preeti Pawar
  • Women’s 65kg: Parveen Hooda

September 30 – Semifinals

  • Men’s 55kg: Jadumani Singh
  • Men’s 70kg: Sumit Kundu
  • Men’s 90kg: Kapil Pokhariya
  • Women’s 51kg: Sakshi Chaudhary
  • Women under 60kg: Priya Ghanghas
  • Women up to 75 kg: Lovlina Borgohain

October 2 – finals

  • Men 55 kg, 60 kg, 70 kg, 80 kg, 90 kg and +90 kg
  • Women 51 kg, 54 kg, 60 kg, 65 kg and 75 kg

The official schedule has the semifinals spread over September 29 and 30, followed by all 11 matches for gold on October 2.

KEY MATCHES TO WATCH

  • Preeti Pawar, 54kg: This is probably the most interesting women’s category for India. Preeti already has an Asian Games bronze, defeating top contenders such as Huang Hsiao-wen and Pang Chol-mi, and comes after winning both the Asian Championships and the Commonwealth Games. Her journey through the draw will be worth watching from the first match.
  • Priya Ghanghas, 60kg: Priya will win two major gold medals in 2026. The Asian Games will tell us how the young boxer can handle the leap from success at the Commonwealth and Asian Championships to a deeper continental field.
  • Lovlina Borgohain, 75 kg: Another final would be significant, but this time Lovlina will want more. After silver in Hangzhou and silver again in Glasgow, he has another chance to end the Games’ main campaign with gold.
  • Sakshi Chaudhary, 51kg: Her Commonwealth Games gold and victory over Nikhat Zareen in the trials at the Asian Games put her firmly in the conversation. The challenge now is on the Asian field, where several top names have world-class experience.
  • Sachin Siwach, 60kg: The Indian men’s 60kg boxer comes in as a Commonwealth Games champion and will have to deal with a very different level of competition in Aichi-Nagoya. A deep run here would be another significant step in his progression.
  • Ankush Panghal, 80 kg: Glasgow was his breakthrough. A gold medal on his Asian Games debut would put this Commonwealth achievement in a much wider context.
  • Narendra Berwal, +90kg: He is the only Indian boxer in this team with a medal from previous Asian Games. After bronze in Hangzhou and silver in Glasgow, the heavyweight is once again one of India’s most experienced medal hopes.

The 2014 Mary Kom gold remains the last time an Indian boxer stood atop the Asian Games podium. Preeti, Priya, Sakshi and Lovlina now have the form, experience and recent results to give India a real chance to end that wait.

Whether Glasgow was the start of something bigger or just a great fortnight will become clearer once Indian boxers start meeting Asia’s best in the ring.

– The end

Issued by:

Debodinna Chakraborty

Published on:

19 Sep 2026 11:50 IST