Priya Ghanghas fights back to beat Tajik boxer, assures Asian Games medal - The Indian Express

Priya Ghanghas knows the feeling of trailing after the first round. In her senior career so far, the 20-year-old Haryana boxer has had her share of bouts that began that way.

On Monday, in the women’s 60kg quarter-final at the Asian Games, against Tajikistan’s Mijgona Samadova, it happened again, and a medal depended on how she answered. She answered with a unanimous 5-0 win, which guaranteed her a medal and took her into the semi-finals.

Samadova is a southpaw, and in the opening minute she showed a strong right lead punch and a right hook. Ghanghas was left catching up with her speed. Her jab failed to land early, so she changed her approach, throwing it in combination with a right straight and pushing Samadova towards the ropes. The round still went 2-3 to the Tajik.

The second round turned. Ghanghas’s pressure had Samadova trying to come in close and hold, and she lost a point for it. The Indian took the round. In the third, Samadova looked tired, and Ghanghas kept working with combinations and speed.

Santiago Nieva, India’s women’s foreign head coach, told The Indian Express from Japan: “We knew that the Tajik boxer would be a bit tricky being a southpaw and having a good lead punch as well as a lead hook. She neutralised Priya’s jab initially but then Priya gained some momentum in the later half of the first round with the combinations.

“Yes, it was 2-3 decision after the first round, but we focussed on how she can build more attacks and can still catch up. Sometimes, Priya ends some time against taller or southpaw boxers and with such boxers coming at a fast pace, the first round can be a mixed round in terms of scoring. But then like CWG, Priya planned her punches and landed them clearly. She can box on her back foot in between and go for counters and apply high intensity pressure, which she did today in the last two rounds.”

It was one of three Indian wins on the day. Earlier, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain beat South Korea’s Seong Suyeon 5-0 in the women’s 75kg quarter-finals, and in the evening session Kapil Pokhriya beat Korea’s Kim Gi-chae by the same margin in the men’s 90kg. India are now assured of six boxing medals in Japan.

*** Ghanghas, the Commonwealth Games champion, next meets China’s Chengyu Yang in the semi-finals. She has beaten Yang before, in the quarter-finals of the Asian Championships on her way to the title earlier this year. Yang arrives with a fresh reputation after beating Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines, the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist and Paris Olympics bronze medallist, 5-0.

Nieva believes the Indian has the edge. “The Chinese showed a lot of improvement as compared to the way she boxed in Asian Championships,” he said. “Priya has a very good left hook as well jumping left hook and the variations can come handy in applying pressure on the Chinese. Her strength has been her belief in close bouts.”

Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story ‘Harmans of Moga’, Nitin has also been a three-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively. His latest Laadli Award, in November 2025, came for an article on Deepthi Jeevanji, who won India’s first gold medal at the World Athletics Para Championship and was taunted for her unusual features as a child. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women’s cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin’s interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More