Parveen Hooda clinched silver after a 5‑0 win over China’s Li Shu in the 65‑kg semi‑final at the Asian Games in Nishio. The bout ended at the 3‑minute mark of the third round, all points awarded by the judges for Hooda’s clean combinations.
The turning point came in the second round when Hooda switched to a counter‑punching rhythm, landing a right hook that rattled Li and opened the scoreboard. From that moment the judges’ scorecards reflected a clear sweep.
Hooda’s journey to the ring is a tale of hunger and sacrifice. After bronze at the 2023 Hangzhou Games, a 22‑month suspension for a whereabouts failure left her medal stripped and the Paris Olympics faded. She returned at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow but bowed out in the quarter‑finals.
Back home, her father Lakhpat, battling cancer and heart disease, has been her anchor. Her mother, Neelam, sells buffalo milk to keep the household afloat while her younger brother studies. Hooda, an ITBP assistant sub‑inspector, channels her earnings to fund her dad’s treatment.
With this semi‑final win, Hooda becomes only the third Indian woman to reach an Asian Games final, joining Mary Kom’s 2014 gold and Lovlina Borgohain’s 2023 silver. The final will pit her against Taipei’s Chen Nien‑chun, a bronze medallist at the 2024 Olympics.
The medal tally now shows India with six assured medals from 11 entries, and the next bout on Wednesday promises more hope. Hooda’s next test is the gold‑medal match against Chen, a chance to finally lift the Asian Games trophy.