Boxing national trials: Lovlina Borgohain, Sakshi Chaudhary seal Asian Games, CWG spots
Patiala, May 16
Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and rising star Sakshi Chaudhary secured their places in the Indian boxing team for the upcoming Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games with wins at the national trials in Patiala on Friday.
Borgohain delivered a commanding performance to defeat Sanamacha Chanu 5-0 in the women's 75kg final at the national boxing trials in Patiala.
Borgohain had missed an earlier opportunity to secure her berth after failing to reach the final at the Asian Boxing Championships 2026 in Ulaanbaatar last month, as per Olympics.com.
Under the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) selection policy, boxers who advanced to the finals of the Asian Boxing Championships secured direct qualification in their respective weight categories for both upcoming multi-sport events.
In the women's 51kg category, Sakshi Chaudhary continued her impressive run by defeating reigning 48kg world champion Minakshi Hooda 5-0 in the final, after earlier pulling off a stunning 4-1 upset over two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen in the semi-finals.
Minakshi had defeated former world champion and Commonwealth Games 2022 gold medallist Nitu Ghanghas in the semi-finals.
Although Hooda clinched gold in the 48kg category at the Asian Boxing Championships, the weight class does not feature in the programmes for either the Asian Games or the Commonwealth Games.
As a result, Minakshi moved up to the 51kg division, where her campaign ended with a defeat to Sakshi Chaudhary.
Among those who had already secured qualification through the Asian Boxing Championships were Sachin Siwach (men's 60kg), Preeti Pawar (women's 54kg) and Priya Ghanghas (women's 60kg), all of whom reached the finals in Ulaanbaatar.
Jaismine Lamboria (women's 57kg), Arundhati Choudhary (women's 70kg) and Aditya Pratap Singh (men's 65kg) secured qualification for the Commonwealth Games only, as their respective categories are not included in the Asian Games programme.
World championship bronze medallist Parveen Hooda (women's 65kg) and Narender Berwal (+90kg), the only Indian male boxer to win a medal at the 2023 Asian Games, also emerged victorious in their trials to seal their spots for the Games.
The Commonwealth Games 2026, to be held from July 23 to August 2 in Glasgow, will feature 14 boxing events. The Asian Games 2026, scheduled from September 19 to October 4 in Japan's Aichi-Nagoya, will be contested across 11 weight categories.
Indian boxing team for Asian Games 2026
Women: Sakshi Chaudhary (51kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), Priya Ghanghas (60kg), Parveen Hooda (65kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg)
Men: Jadumani Singh (55 kg), Sachin Siwach (60 kg), Sumit Kundu (70 kg), Ankush (80 kg), Kapil Pokhariya (90 kg), Narender Berwal (+90 kg)
Indian boxing team for Commonwealth Games 2026
Women: Sakshi Chaudhary (51kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), Priya Ghanghas (60kg), Parveen Hooda (65kg), Arundhati Choudhary (70kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75kg)
Men: Jadumani Singh (55kg), Sachin Siwach (60kg), Aditya Pratap Singh (65kg), Sumit Kundu (70kg), Ankush (80kg), Kapil Pokhariya (90kg), Narender Berwal (+90kg).
— ANI
Reader Comments
Sakshi Chaudhary defeating Nikhat Zareen and Minakshi Hooda back-to-back is incredible. She's the future of Indian boxing for sure. But also feel for Nikhat—she'll bounce back stronger!
Great to see such depth in women's boxing. But the BFI selection policy seems a bit harsh. Forcing Minakshi to move up a weight class just because 48kg isn't in the Games? Not fair on her. She's a world champion, she deserves a shot at a higher level, but this feels messy.
Finally lots of representation for India in these Games! But what about Nitu Ghanghas? She won gold at CWG 2022 and now she's not even in the trials final? Something seems off with the selection. Also par mujhe Sakshi's run is so inspiring—she almost ended up in tears after beating Nikhat! 🥺
So proud of our boxers! Especially Priya Ghanghas and Parveen Hooda securing spots. But I'm worried about the men's team—only Narender Berwal with Asian Games medal experience? Others need to step up. Japan's Aichi-Nagoya will be tough for our guys. 🤞
Interesting how different the two teams are for Asian Games vs CWG. Some boxers only get one chance—like Jaismine Lamboria who qualified for CWG but not Asian Games. She'll have to make that opportunity count. As a sports fan, I hope these trials yield strong medals for India
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