'Daughters like you make India feel so proud': Prez Murmu hails Parveen for gold medal

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Friday heaped praise on boxer Parveen Hooda for winning the women's 65kg gold medal at the ongoing Asian Games.

Murmu hailed Parveen's "skill, courage and conviction" that brought her the gold medal after defeating Chinese Taipei's Chen Nien-chin in a closely fought final by 3-2. "I extend my warmest congratulations to Parveen Hooda on winning the Gold Medal in the Women’s 65kg Boxing event at the Asian Games 2026," President Murmu wrote for Parveen on X.

"You fought your way to the top with skill, courage and conviction. Daughters like you make India feel so proud when our tricolour flutters high, and our national anthem is played in an international competition. This Gold Medal is going to inspire countless youth, especially the girls," she added.

Parveen battled it out against Nien-chin in the final. She won the first round 5-0 before the Chinese Taipei boxer mounted a comeback to take the second one 5-0 in her favour.

With nothing to separate the duo, the third round was a closely contested one as Parveen made the most of the counter punches she produced, while Nien-chin also landed a few blows. In the end, Parveen won the gold medal and avenged her 2023 Asian Games, where she won a bronze initially, but the medal was stripped for whereabouts failures.

Parveen became the third Indian woman boxer to win a gold at the Asiad. Before her, Lovlina Borgohain also clinched the yellow metal in the 75kg category.

Lovlina defeated China's Bao Ziyi by a unanimous decision of 5-0 at the Nishio Gymnasium here to become just the second Indian woman boxer to win a gold medal at the Asiad, joining the legendary Mary Kom in the elite list.

Lovlina, who won a silver at the Commonwealth Games 2026, dominated the bout against the Chinese boxer in the final as she won the contest with four judges ruling 29-28 in her favour and one giving her a 30-27 card.

She won a closely fought first round 3-2 before bossing the next two rounds to win the second and third by 4-1 margins as she looked the superior boxer of the two.

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