World champion Indian boxers Minakshi Hooda and Jaismine Lamboria, competing in the women’s 48kg and 57kg categories, marched into the semi-finals of the Asian Boxing Championships 2026 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Sunday.
Minakshi and Jaismine’s wins ensured that all 10 Indian women pugilists in action will finish with a medal at the Ulaanbaatar meet.
On the other side, wins for Lokesh, Akash, and Harsh Choudhary in the quarter-finals confirmed six medals for the country’s male boxers.
Minakshi defeated Japan’s Yuka Sadamatsu by a unanimous 5-0 decision. Jaismine matched that intensity later in the day, outclassing the People’s Republic of China’s Ziyi Chen with a similar 5-0 verdict.
In the men’s section, Lokesh booked his place in the 85kg semi-finals with a 5-0 win over the Republic of Korea’s Gichae Kim.
Akash followed with a 5-0 victory against Turkmenistan’s Yhlas Bagtyyarov, while Harsh Choudhary delivered a strong performance to overcome Kyrgyzstan’s Tynystan Alybaev 5-0 and moved into the top four.
Ankush (80kg), however, bowed out after a loss to Jordan’s Hussein Iashaish.
On Friday, Nikhat Zareen, Priya Ghanghas and Preeti Pawar marched into the semi-finals, thereby confirming medals.
The 29-year-old Nikhat Zareen will face China’s Wu Yu, the Paris 2024 gold medallist, in the women’s 51kg semi-finals on Monday.
In the women’s 54kg category, Preeti Pawar, the gold medallist at the World Boxing Cup Finals, will face the Republic of Korea’s Im Aeji, the Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist, in the semis.
Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain will be up against Aziza Zokirova of Uzbekistan for a place in the final on Monday. Olympian Pooja Rani, meanwhile, will take on Nadezhda Ryabets of Kazakhstan.
India sent a 20-member boxing squad for the continental championships. Indian boxers who reach the finals in approved weight categories will secure direct qualification for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/asian-boxing-championships-2026-india-day-7-report
