Lovlina becomes 1st woman in Indian history to reach 2 Asian Games boxing final

Lovlina Borgohain became the first woman boxer in Indian history to reach two Asian Games finals after producing a spirited comeback to defeat Kazakhstan's Natalya Bogdanova in the women's 75kg semi-final on Wednesday.

Lovlina, the silver medallist from Hangzhou 2022, overcame the reigning 70kg world champion in a closely fought contest, edging out Bogdanova 3-2 in a split decision. The victory took her into another Asian Games gold medal bout, giving her an opportunity to go one step further than she did at the previous edition.

September 30 turned out to be a productive day for the Indian boxing contingent. Beyond Lovlina's run to the final, Priya Ghanghas and Kapil Pokhriyal signed off with bronze medals after losing their respective semi-finals.

Lovlina became the third Indian boxer to reach a gold medal bout at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, following Ankush Panghal in the men's 80kg category and Parveen Hooda in the women's 65kg category.HOW WAS LOVLINA'S BOUT

The semi-final did not begin the way Lovlina would have wanted. Both boxers were cautious in the opening round, refusing to commit too early and keeping the exchanges controlled. With neither fighter able to establish a clear advantage, the judges were left with a close call.

She lost the first round 2-3 on split decision, leaving herself with little room for error in the next two rounds.

The Indian, however, responded immediately.

Lovlina stepped up her intensity in the second round and began finding greater success with her combinations. She was more assertive with her attacks while remaining composed defensively, and the judges rewarded the change in approach.

The contest was level heading into the final round.

That left both boxers with everything to fight for.

The Kazakh corner was making plenty of noise, with Bogdanova's supporters cheering every punch their boxer landed. But inside the ring, Lovlina appeared increasingly comfortable as the bout entered its decisive stages.

The Indian boxer stayed composed and put greater emphasis on her defence, picking her moments to attack rather than getting drawn into prolonged exchanges. Bogdanova did manage to land a strong left hook, but Lovlina responded with a counter of her own.

The Kazakh boxer threw everything into the final round, knowing she needed to make an impression on the judges. Lovlina, however, used her experience to weather the late pressure and limited Bogdanova's opportunities to land clean, telling blows.

It was a nervy finish, but Lovlina had done enough.

The Indian was awarded a 3-2 split-decision victory, sending her into the final and putting her one win away from Asian Games gold.

Lovlina had fallen short of the top prize at the previous edition. This time, she has another opportunity to finish the job.PRIYA WINS BRONZE ON GAMES DEBUT

While Lovlina advanced to the final, 20-year-old Priya Ghanghas' impressive Asian Games debut ended with a bronze medal.

Priya went down 1-4 to China's Yang Chengyu in the women's 60kg semi-final after a bruising contest against the more experienced Chinese boxer.

The result meant Priya could not progress to the gold medal bout, but she leaves the Games with a podium finish on her debut.

India's boxing contingent had already secured a medal through super-heavyweight boxer Narender Berwal, who won bronze on Tuesday. Kapil Pokhriyal, and Priya Ghanghas added another two bronze medals on Wednesday.

Kapil gave everything he had against Uzbekistan's Turabek Khabibullaev, but the Uzbek boxer controlled the contest more effectively and did enough to convince the judges.

Turabek was awarded a 4-1 split-decision victory, bringing Kapil's campaign to an end.

Kapil therefore returned home with a bronze medal, joining Priya and Narender among India's boxing medallists at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.INDIA BETTERS HANGZHOU BOXING HAUL

The three medals secured on Wednesday took India's boxing medal tally at the Asian Games to six, improving on the country's haul from Hangzhou, where Indian boxers won one silver and three bronze medals.

The day also saw three Indian boxers book their places in gold medal bouts.

Parveen Hooda had already secured her place in the women's 65kg final, while Ankush Panghal reached the men's 80kg final. Lovlina then completed India's trio of finalists with her comeback victory over Bogdanova.

All three will fight for gold on October 2.

For Lovlina, however, the significance of the final goes beyond adding another medal to her collection.

She has already stood on an Asian Games podium, having won silver at Hangzhou. Now, after surviving a tense semi-final and becoming the first Indian woman boxer to reach two Asian Games finals, she has another chance to finish at the top.

A victory on October 2 would give Lovlina her first Asian Games gold and improve on the silver she won three years ago.- Ends