Nishio, Sept. 28 -- Lovlina Borgohain's medal collection continued to swell as the seasoned Indian boxer assured herself of a second consecutive Asian Games podium finish by moving to the semifinals while Priya Ghanghas and Kapil Pokhariya too advanced to the last four stage here on Monday.

Lovlina notched a commanding 5-0 win over South Korea's Seong Suyeon in the women's middleweight (75kg).

Asian Championship gold medallist and reigning Commonwealth Games champion Priya then came from behind to also register a unanimous decision victory over Tajikistan's Mijgona Samadova in the 60kg quarterfinal.

Pokhariya, one of only three boxers to miss out on the podium at last month's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, then out-punched South Korea's Kim Gichae 0-5 to storm into the men's 90kg semifinal.

Six Indian boxers including Parveen Hooda (65kg), Ankush Panghal (80kg) and Narender Berwal (+90kg) will thus return with medals from the continental tournament, improving on last edition's four-medal haul.

Lovlina, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist, had won silver at the previous edition in Hangzhou in 2023.

With the Commonwealth Games silver she won last month, the Assam boxer has now won medals at all the big-ticket events, including the World Championships, Asian Games, Asian Championships and World Cup.

"I'm very happy because this was my first match, and I did well. I have fought her twice before."

"It feels very special to me. Japan is very special to me because my life changed because of Japan. I won a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

"And now I'm back here at the Asian Games. I'm very happy, and I feel as if Japan is my second home. "Last time at the Asian Games (Hangzhou 2022) I won a silver medal, so I will try to change the colour this time," she added.

Lovlina started on the offensive with her 1-2 combination. She employed her jab and cross effectively to unsettle Seong, who struggled to connect despite having a slight height advantage.

In the second round, Lovlina continued to land clean combinations of crosses and hooks, but was slightly vulnerable in defence as Seong threw a barrage of punches.

The closely contested round round saw the Korean enjoy better range with her height advantage, but Lovlina was more agile and quicker with her movement. Her punches were also cleaner and more effective.

She will take on reigning 70kg world champion Natalya Bogdanova of Kazakhstan in the last four stage.

Priya began cautiously, taking time to assess her opponent's range. She landed two sharp crosses and repeatedly targeted the body, but her tendency to dip her head too low earned her the referee's warning a couple of times.

The youngster struggled to land cleanly as the more experienced Samadova worked effectively from range, picking her punches and keeping Priya at the end of her shots.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.