Lovlina Borgohain wins Asian Games boxing gold on her 29th birthday

Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain won the women's 75kg boxing gold at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on 2 October 2026 - her 29th birthday. She beat China's Bao Ziyi by a unanimous 5-0 decision at the Nishio Gymnasium.

A place in history

Lovlina is only the second Indian woman boxer to win an Asian Games gold medal. The first was Mary Kom, at Incheon in 2014. The win also improves on the silver Lovlina took in the same weight class at Hangzhou in 2023.

How the final went

Lovlina took control early and won the first round on all judges' cards. Bao, an Asian champion, had her best spell in the second round, but the Indian stayed composed and closed out the third round to seal the decision.

On the way to the final, she edged Kazakhstan's Natalya Bogdanova 3-2 in a close semi-final.

Her major medals

India's medal push

The gold was India's 12th of these Games, coming on Day 14 of competition. Several other Indian boxers won bronze medals on the same day, and India were pushing to climb the medal table before the Games close on 4 October 2026. Athletics has been India's biggest medal source in Japan.

For Indian boxing, Lovlina's gold ends a 12-year wait for a woman champion at the Asian Games and strengthens her standing as one of the country's most consistent big-event performers.