Asian Games: Narender Berwal reaches the +90kg semi-finals and assures a medal

Narender Berwal reached the semi-finals of the men's +90kg boxing at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday, 27 September 2026, and assured at least a bronze medal. Sportstar reported that the 31-year-old beat Thailand's Adthapong Saengtep by referee stops contest, RSC, in the first round. The bout was at Nishio Gymnasium, The Sentinel reported.

The accounts of the clock do not use one figure. The Times of India's live coverage reported that the referee stopped the bout at 1 minute 37 seconds of round one, after two knockdowns. The Sentinel reported a stoppage inside two minutes: two standing counts, and then the referee stopping the contest the third time. Hindustan Times and Olympics.com had described a stoppage inside about two minutes, without the 1:37 mark. Sportstar reported an RSC win in the first round and did not give a clock. The outlets agree that the referee ended the bout in round one. They do not all give the same time. Both the 1:37 and the "inside two minutes" line are kept, under the outlet that used them.

In this format both losing semi-finalists receive bronze. There is no extra bronze bout. Reaching the semi-final therefore assures a medal. It does not decide the colour. A win on Tuesday would mean a final. A loss would mean bronze. Sunday's result is the assurance, not a report that a medal had been presented.

Sportstar said the semi-final is against Kazakhstan's Aibek Oralbay at 11:30 a.m. IST on Tuesday. The Sentinel called Oralbay the world champion and said Berwal would be boxing for a first Asian Games final. It also reported that Berwal won bronze at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023 and silver at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Those titles are The Sentinel's account of his record.

The Sentinel called this India's third boxing medal of the day. It said Ankush Panghal, the Commonwealth Games champion, had already beaten Tajikistan's Nekruz Salimov 5-0 in the men's 80kg quarterfinal, and that Parveen Hooda had beaten Uzbekistan's Navbakhor Khamidova 5-0 in the women's 65kg. Sportstar's later wrap lists the same three quarterfinal wins and the same next bouts: Panghal against Uzbekistan's Fazliddin Erkinboev at 11:00 a.m. IST on Tuesday, and Hooda against China's Li Shu at 10:15 a.m. An earlier Times of India story, written when only Panghal and Hooda were through, had listed Berwal against Saengtep as still to come. The Sportstar and Sentinel reports used here are the ones that include his win.

The Sentinel also reported that Sachin Siwach lost his quarterfinal to Japan's Shunsuke Kitamoto, a 2025 world championships bronze medallist, by 0-5. It gave round scores of 1-4, 0-5 and 4-1, and a 29-28 result for Kitamoto, and it called the class the men's 60kg. Sportstar called the same bout the men's 70kg and said Kitamoto won 5-0 despite losing the last round. The weight class is reported differently. This article does not choose between 60kg and 70kg.

A Hindustan Times day wrap said Indian boxers assured three medals by reaching semi-finals. The wrap did not itself name Berwal or Saengtep. The opponent, the RSC and the Tuesday semi-final come from Sportstar and The Sentinel.

What's next

Berwal's semi-final against Aibek Oralbay is scheduled for Tuesday, 29 September 2026, at 11:30 a.m. IST, Sportstar reported. The winner boxes for gold. The loser receives bronze.