“I feel proud":  Parveen Hooda celebrates Asian Games gold, dedicates medal to late brother

By Vipul Kashyap
Aichi-Nagoya [Japan], October 2 (ANI): Clinching the women’s 65kg gold at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, Indian boxer Parveen Hooda said she was proud to contribute to the country's medal tally, crediting her hard work and a strategic change in the third round for her victory. 
She dedicated the medal to India and her late brother, Hardik Rathi, and said the experience would serve as valuable preparation for next year’s World Championships.
Parveen Hooda secured the second boxing gold of the day for India, defeating Chinese Taipei's Chen Nien-Chen in the final of the women's 65 kg event at the ongoing Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya on Friday.
"I feel very proud to have contributed to the country's medal tally; it feels wonderful to have achieved something for the nation. I was confident because I had trained hard, but my opponent was very skilled too. I tweaked my strategy slightly for the third round, and it worked in my favour. I would like to dedicate this medal to my country and to my late brother, Hardik Rathi...This experience will be extremely helpful in preparing for the World Championship next year,"  Parveen told ANI. 
Parveen secured the gold medal by a 3-2 split decision. After having lost her 2022 Asian Games bronze due to a doping whereabouts failure, this win over a former world champion for a gold marks a massive redemption for the boxer.
The boxer was cautious at the start and, despite some jabs from her opponent, managed to make some counter-punches, and both pugilists exchanged some one-twos. Parveen also got a few body shots while Chen delivered a fast right hook. India took the first round 5-0.
In the second round, Parveen kept her distance against the opponent well and made good use of her reach to land a few punches and breach Chen's defence. However, Chen managed to fight back and took the second round.
In the final round, the Chinese Taipei boxer landed a few jabs as the Indian looked careful. Parveen also managed to get some quick one-twos, and the match got close. Chen tried a few desperate punches, only to be met by counter-punches from Parveen, who eventually won the close clash by a 3-2 split decision. (ANI)