Asian Boxing C’ships 2026: Indian women sweep semis; six men advance

Ulaanbaatar:India’s boxing contingent delivered a strong performance on Day 7 of the Asian Boxing Championships 2026 in Mongolia, with the women’s team storming into the semifinals and six male boxers also advancing.

The Indian women continued their dominant run, ensuring that every boxer still in contention secured at least a bronze medal by reaching the semifinals. In the 48kg category, Meenakshi produced a composed and technically sharp display to defeat Japan’s Yuka Sadamatsu with a unanimous 5-0 verdict. Jaismine was equally impressive in the 57kg division, overpowering China’s Ziyi Chen with another 5-0 win to book her spot in the last four.

This clean sweep highlights the depth and consistency of the Indian women’s squad, which has performed with authority throughout the tournament.

In the men’s section, India maintained solid momentum. Lokesh (85kg) registered a convincing 5-0 win over Korea’s Gichae Kim, showing excellent control and precision. Akash followed up with a dominant 5-0 victory against Turkmenistan’s Yhlas Bagtyyarov. Harsh Choudhary added to the tally by defeating Kyrgyzstan’s Tynystan Alybaev to progress to the semifinals.

With these results, India now has six boxers in the men’s semifinals, reflecting a strong overall showing across weight categories. However, Ankush (80kg) exited the competition after a defeat to Jordan’s Hussein Iashaish.

Earlier, Ankushita Boro advanced in the women’s 65kg category, beating Kazakhstan’s Laura Yessenkeldi 4-1 in a controlled bout. She will next face Chinese Taipei’s Nien-Chin Chen, the 2025 World Boxing Finals gold medallist and Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist, in a crucial semifinal clash.

With several semifinal bouts ahead, India’s campaign continues to gather momentum at the continental stage.

With inputs from IANS