Ankush Panghal secures men's 80kg boxing gold for India at Asian Games 2026

Ankush Panghal won the men's 80kg boxing gold at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Friday, October 2. The 21-year-old Haryana native defeated South Korea’s Kim Minseong 4-0 by split decision in the gold-medal bout.

Panghal’s triumph was India’s first men's boxing gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Earlier in the men's competition Kapil Pokhariya and Narender Berwal had earned bronze medals in the 90kg and 90+kg events respectively. Panghal’s title added to two earlier Indian boxing golds at these Games — Lovlina Borgohain in the women's 75kg and Parveen Hooda in the women's 65kg — while Priya Ghangas took bronze in the women's 60kg. With six medals overall, the report described this as India’s most successful boxing campaign at the Asian Games in terms of gold medals.

Panghal arrived in Aichi-Nagoya as one of India's leading medal contenders after winning gold at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. The pugilist from Hisar was described as dominating the gold-medal fight from the beginning. He had also claimed silver at the 2025 World Boxing Cup in New Delhi.

In the final Panghal won the opening round 4-1, using superior speed and footwork, and then took the second round 5-0. He secured the third round 4-1 to complete a 4-0 victory. Another passage of the report stated the result as a 4-0 unanimous decision in the men's 80kg final against Kim Minseong.

The result continued a gap in male Asiad golds for India; the last time an Indian male boxer won an Asian Games gold was Amit Panghal in 2018. Panghal's success therefore restored a male boxer to the top of the podium for India at the Asian Games according to the report.

Panghal’s gold completed a trio of Indian boxing golds at Aichi-Nagoya and contributed to a six-medal haul for the Indian boxing team, which the report described as the country's most successful boxing campaign at the Asian Games in terms of gold medals.