Asian Games 2026: India's boxing campaign suffered a double setback on Thursday as Sakshi Chaudhary bowed out after losing to Kazakhstan's Alua Balkibekova in the women's pre-quarterfinals, while Sumit was forced to concede his men's 70kg bout due to a knee injury.
Sakshi, the Glasgow Commonwealth Games gold medallist, went down 2-3 against Balkibekova. The 26-year-old Haryana boxer struggled to land clean punches as the Kazakh fighter maintained her advantage through the three rounds.
Balkibekova, who used her right hand effectively throughout the contest, took the opening round 3-2. Sakshi responded with greater aggression in the second round and looked to land combinations, but her opponent once again edged the round 3-2.
Trailing on the scorecards, Sakshi needed a strong final round to turn the bout around. However, Balkibekova held her ground to secure a 3-2 victory and book her place in the quarterfinals.
Sakshi's Asian Games Campaign Ends
Sakshi had entered the pre-quarterfinal after making a strong start to her Asian Games 2026 campaign. The Indian boxer had defeated Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aira Villegas of the Philippines in her opening bout to progress to the last 16.
However, she could not replicate that performance against the experienced Kazakh boxer and her campaign came to an end.
Sumit Suffers Injury Heartbreak
Earlier in the day, Sumit's Asian Games campaign also came to an unfortunate end after he was forced to concede his men's 70kg pre-quarterfinal against Iraq's Al Sarray Ali Qasim Hamdan.
The 23-year-old Indian boxer was leading after the first two rounds when he appeared to injure his knee after taking a punch and falling awkwardly in the third round.
Sumit was unable to continue, prompting the referee to stop the contest and award the victory to Hamdan.
Sumit had started his Asian Games campaign with an impressive 5-0 unanimous victory over Thailand's Bunjong Sinsiri.
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Indian boxer Parveen Hooda has advanced to the quarter-finals of the women's 65kg category at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
She secured her place in the next round through a walkover after her scheduled Round of 16 opponent, Malika Nozimova of Tajikistan, failed to take the ring.
With this victory, Parveen is now just one win away from securing a guaranteed medal for India. She is slated to face Uzbekistan’s Navbakhor Khamidova in the quarter-finals