Asian Boxing Championships: Preeti Pawar Stuns Olympic Medallist to Enter Final

Rising Indian boxer Preeti Pawar delivered a composed and clinical performance to defeat Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aeji Im of Korea 5-0 , storming into the final of the Asian Boxing Championships . Preeti, who won a bronze at the Asian Games , dominated all three rounds and will now face Huang Hsiao-wen of Chinese Taipei, a three-time World Champion (2019, 2023, 2025) and Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medallist, in a highly anticipated gold medal clash.

In the women’s 60kg semifinals, Priya produced a commanding 5-0 win over local favourite Namuun Monkhor to secure her place in the final, where she will face North Korea’s Un Gyong Won . In the 70kg category, Arundhati Choudhary defeated Uzbek Oysha Toirova 4-1 , showcasing control and composure, and will meet Kazakhstan’s Bakyt Seidish in the title bout.

However, some of India’s seasoned boxers bowed out. Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen suffered a 0-5 loss to Olympic medallist Wu Yu of China in the 51kg semifinals, marking her second defeat against the Chinese pugilist, including at the Paris Games. Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain went down 0-5 to Uzbekistan’s Aziza Zokirova in the 75kg semifinals, while Ankushita Boro lost 0-3 to Paris Olympics bronze medallist Nien-Chin Chen of Chinese Taipei in the 65kg semifinals. Ankushita’s bout was briefly interrupted by a power supply issue, and the result was decided on points.

In the women’s 80kg category, featuring only three competitors, Pooja Rani bowed out after a 0-5 semifinal defeat to Kazakhstan’s Nadezhda Ryabets , a 2023 World Championships bronze medallist.

Looking ahead, world champions Minakshi Hooda (48kg) and Jaismine Lamboria (57kg) are scheduled to compete in their semifinals on Tuesday, keeping India’s hopes alive for more gold at the championships.