2 years after losing her medal, Parveen Hooda returns to claim Asian Games gold

India's Parveen Hooda beat Paris Olympics bronze medallist Chen Nien-chin to clinch the gold medal at the Asian Games 2026. Competing in the women's boxing 65kg category, Parveen beat Chen via split 3-2 decision. It was a nerve-wracking encounter, where Parveen started well, fell behind, and then ultimately took home the crown of champion.It was a comeback for the Indian boxer, who was stripped of her Asian Games bronze medal three years ago for a whereabouts failure.Asian Games Live: October 2 Updates Courtesy: AP WHY WAS PARVEEN'S MEDAL STRIPPED?Parveen, who had been suspended for 22 months after committing three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period, was returning to the Asian Games after missing the 2024 Paris Olympics. The International Testing Agency (ITA) confirmed that Parveen's suspension was effective until July 16, 2025. As part of the sanction, her results between December 11, 2022 and May 17, 2024 were disqualified, which meant she lost the bronze medal she had won at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.The suspension also made her ineligible for the Paris Olympics, where she had hoped to make her Games debut. Parveen had been building towards that opportunity before the suspension. She won bronze at the 2022 World Championships and gold at the 2022 Asian Boxing Championships before adding the Asian Games bronze later that year.PARVEEN RETURNS TO TAKE ASIAN GAMES GOLDHer return to competitive boxing came after almost two years away from the sport. She worked her way back into the national setup and won gold at the World Boxing Cup Finals in 2025.There was another setback at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where Parveen lost her quarter-final to England's Sacha Hickey on a split decision and returned without a medal.She arrived in Nagoya with another opportunity to make her mark.Parveen beat China's Li Shu 4-1 in the semi-final to reach the women's 65kg final, becoming only the third Indian woman boxer to reach an Asian Games final.MC Mary Kom had won gold in the women's boxing event in 2014, while Lovlina Borgohain won silver at the previous edition in Hangzhou.In the final, Parveen faced Chen, who had won bronze at the Paris Olympics. The Chinese Taipei boxer brought considerable experience into the contest, but Parveen started strongly and took the early initiative.Chen fought back as the bout progressed and managed to put Parveen under pressure. The Indian boxer, however, stayed in the contest and continued to fight for every round.The close nature of the bout was reflected in the final verdict, with the judges split 3-2 in Parveen's favour.The gold medal adds another major achievement to Parveen's career after her World Championships bronze and Asian Championships gold in 2022. More importantly, it comes after a period in which she lost the Asian Games medal she had won, missed the Paris Olympics and had to rebuild her career following her suspension. This time, Parveen leaves the Asian Games with gold.- Ends