Aichi-Nagoya, Sept. 29 -- Ankush Panghal fought his way into the men's 80kg gold-medal bout at the Asian Games 2026 after beating Uzbekistan's Fazliddin Erkinboev in a thrilling semifinal here on Tuesday.

According to ESPN, boxing in the blue corner, Ankush had a lively start against the Uzbek southpaw, exchanging quick punches and finding success with his right hand and body shots. Despite appearing to land more punches, the Indian was surprisingly adjudged to have lost the opening round 1-4.

Ankush responded strongly in the second round, matching Erkinboev's speed and counter-punching ability to take the round 3-2 and level the momentum.

The Indian then produced his best boxing in the decisive third round, dominating the exchanges to...