Six Indian Boxers Enter Finals at Youth Asian Games; India’s Medal Tally Rises to 25
India’s young boxing contingent delivered a stunning performance at the Youth Asian Games, with six Indian boxers storming into the finals, ensuring the country at least six more medals in the bag. Alongside their success, Indian athletes in badminton, wrestling, table tennis, and swimming also impressed on Tuesday.
In the girls’ 46kg category, 15-year-old Khushi Chand dominated Mongolia’s Altanzul Altangadas with a clean 5-0 win to book her spot in the final, where she will face China’s Chen Fang-yu. Another Indian, Chandrika Pujari, proceeded past Kazakhstan’s Ramina Makhanova by the same 5-0 margin in the 54kg class and will now meet Uzbekistan’s Kumriniso Muhammadova for the gold.
Harnoor Kaur was equally commanding in the 66kg division, defeating Lu Wen-jing of Chinese Taipei 5-0 to secure a place in the final against Kazakhstan’s Ayaulym Ospanova. In the 80+kg category, Anshika overpowered China’s Guo Jiaqing to set up a summit clash with Kazakhstan’s Elnura Kongyat.
Meanwhile, Ahaana Sharma had to dig deep in her 50kg semifinal but held her nerve to edge past Uzbekistan’s Nazokat Mardonova 3-2 in a tight contest. She will meet DPR Korea’s Ma Jong Hyang for the title. On the boys’ side, Lanchenba Singh impressed with a 5-0 win over DPR Korea’s An Phyong Guk in the 50kg semifinal, earning a shot at gold against Kazakhstan’s Zhumagali Nurmakhan.
In wrestling, Yashita secured India another assured medal by storming into the girls’ 61kg final after a commanding 6-0 win over Kyrgyzstan’s Akylai Chynybaeva. She will face Kazakhstan’s Zhaidar Mukhat later in the day.
The shuttlers, too, continued their solid run. Suryaksh Rawat moved into the men’s singles quarterfinals after beating Huang Jyun-Kai of Chinese Taipei 21-14, 21-19, while the mixed doubles team of Jaison Bjorn and Angel Punera cruised past their Filipino opponents 21-10, 21-13 to enter the quarters. Vennala Kalagotla advanced in the girls’ singles with a comfortable 21-10, 21-12 win, and Tankara Talasila joined her in the quarters with an equally smooth victory.
In table tennis, Divyanshi Bhowmick reached the girls’ round of 16 after beating Thailand’s 14-year-old Panita Vijittham 11-7, 11-6, 11-4, while the mixed doubles duo Syndrela Das and Sarthak Arya moved into the semifinals after a thrilling 3-2 win over Korea’s Seungsoo Lee and Heo Yerim.
In swimming, teenage sensation Dhinidhi Desinghu finished fifth in the girls’ 100m freestyle, clocking 57.72 seconds, narrowly missing a podium finish but continuing her impressive run.
With these results, India’s total medal count at the Youth Asian Games has climbed to 25, including 3 gold, 10 silver, and 12 bronze, placing the country 11th in the overall standings
