Aichi-Nagoya, 24 September (H.S.): Indian boxer Sakshi Chaudhary suffered a 3-2 defeat to Kazakhstan’s Balkibekova in the women’s 51kg category at the Asian Games 2026, bringing her campaign at the tournament to an end.

Balkibekova made an aggressive start in the decisive third round, putting Sakshi under pressure. The Kazakh boxer landed a sharp undercut to Sakshi’s jaw and gained an early advantage.

Sakshi attempted to fight back by maintaining sustained pressure in the ring and connecting with a sharp hook to her opponent’s face.

Balkibekova responded immediately with accurate jabs and maintained her distance.

The contest remained closely fought until the final bell, but Balkibekova prevailed by a 3-2 split decision to advance to the next round. Sakshi put up a strong fight but narrowly missed out on victory.

Indian boxer Parveen, meanwhile, advanced to the quarterfinals without having to enter the ring after her Tajikistan opponent, Malika Nozimova, conceded a walkover.

Parveen will now face Uzbekistan’s Navbakhor Khamidova in the quarterfinals.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar