Asian Games: Parveen Hooda reaches the 65kg semi-finals and assures a medal

Parveen Hooda reached the semi-finals of the women's 65kg boxing at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday, 27 September 2026, and a medal is assured. IANS reported that she beat Uzbekistan's Navbakhor Khamidova 5-0 in the quarterfinal at Nishio Gymnasium. The Times of India reported the same unanimous score. Neither paper said the semi-final or the final had been boxed. Reaching the semi-finals is what assures the medal: The Times of India said the two semi-final places for Indian boxers that day guaranteed at least two bronzes, and that each boxer was one win from a final.

Khamidova was the silver medallist at the 2025 World Championships, IANS reported. The Times of India called her a world championships silver medallist and did not give the year. It was Hooda's first bout of the tournament. She had received a walkover in the previous round. The Times of India said she is from Haryana.

IANS described the rounds. Khamidova started the first on the front foot and had some success with the left hook, with Hooda working off the back foot. Hooda answered with one-two combinations and counters. The judges gave her the round 4-1. In the second, Khamidova tried to raise the pressure. Hooda kept the distance and scored with a late counter series. That round went 5-0. After two rounds, IANS said, four cards had Hooda ahead 20-18 and one card read 19-19. In the third, Khamidova stood off and looked to counter. Hooda used her reach and scored when she stepped in. A late exchange followed. All five judges gave her the bout, 5-0.

The Times of India's account is less specific on the cards. It said Khamidova could not answer Hooda's combination punching, and that the decision was unanimous. The two reports agree on the 5-0 result and on the opponent. They do not publish different scores.

The Times of India and IANS both reported that a bronze Hooda won at the previous Asian Games was later taken away. IANS said the bronze from the 2022 Hangzhou edition was rescinded after a doping whereabouts violation. The Times of India said the World Anti-Doping Agency suspended her for a whereabouts failure. IANS said she had returned to international competition and reached the quarterfinals at the 2026 Commonwealth Games before this tournament. The papers treat that sequence as the record of the case. They do not say a medal has already been presented in Nagoya.

The same Times of India report said Ankush Panghal had earlier become the first Indian boxer to assure a medal at these Games. He beat Tajikistan's Nekruz Salimov 5-0 in the men's 80kg quarterfinal. The paper said it was his Asian Games debut, that he is from Haryana, and that he won Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow last month. It said all five judges gave him the first round, that Salimov tried to close the distance in the second, that all five judges gave him that round as well, and that he closed the third 5-0 after Salimov landed some punches. That result is the context for Hooda being the second Indian boxer into a semi-final on Sunday.

In the same report, Sachin Siwach lost his men's 60kg quarterfinal 0-5 to Japan's Shunsuke Kitamoto. The Times of India also wrote that Narender was still due later on Sunday to face Thailand's Adthapong Saengtep in the men's 90+kg quarterfinal. That sentence describes the schedule at the time of the report.

What's next

Hooda will box in the semi-final for a place in the final. IANS named Kazakhstan's reigning world champion, Aida Abikeyeva, as a potential opponent. The Times of India said one more win would put her in the gold-medal bout. A loss in the semi-final would still leave the bronze that the semi-final place has already assured. The colour of the medal was not decided on Sunday.