Asian Games: Sakshi Chaudhary Defeats Paris Olympic Bronze Medallist Villegas, Advances to Pre-Quarterfinals

Indian boxer Sakshi Chaudhary advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s 51kg category at the Asian Games 2026 after defeating Philippines boxer and Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aira Villegas by a unanimous 5-0 decision on Tuesday. Competing from the red corner, Sakshi made an impressive start and controlled the opening round with sharp jabs and well-timed punches. Her aggressive approach earned her a clean 5-0 verdict from the judges. Villegas stepped up the pressure in the second round, but Sakshi remained composed and responded with effective counters. The Indian boxer continued to find her target with clean combinations and once again took the round 5-0, strengthening her position in the contest.

With the bout under control, Sakshi adopted a more cautious strategy in the final round. She picked her opportunities carefully and focused on protecting her advantage. Although Villegas connected with a powerful left hook, it was not enough to turn the contest around, with Sakshi eventually securing a comfortable unanimous decision win. The victory came on Sakshi’s 23rd birthday. The Indian boxer, who has already claimed gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as well as a World Boxing Cup title, will now meet Kazakhstan’s Alua Balkibekova in the round of 16 on Thursday.

Indian boxer Jadumani Singh is set to begin his campaign in the men’s 55kg category against Nepal’s Chandra Bahadur Thapa. India also recorded several notable results across other sports on Day 3. In shooting, Elavenil Valarivan and Parth Mane finished fourth in the mixed team 10m air rifle final after securing second place in qualification and making it through to the gold medal match.

The Indian men’s kabaddi team continued its campaign with a dominant 63-31 victory over South Korea in their Group A fixture. In swimming, Rishabh Das, Akash Mani, Benediction Beniston and Dhanush Suresh finished seventh in the men’s 4x100m medley relay heats, earning qualification for the final. Jay Meena registered a 4-0 win over Pakistan’s Hussain Arain in the men’s singles Group D soft tennis competition. In the women’s singles, Aadhya Tiwari suffered a 1-4 defeat against Thailand’s Alisha Ziegler.

Wushu athlete Langlentombi Devi Hanjabam finished ninth in the women’s Nanquan final. In fencing, Sachin and Hemash Singh finished fourth in Pool 1 and Pool 5 respectively in the men’s individual foil competition. Aryan Nehra placed fourth in the men’s 1500m freestyle final B. In karate, Chetan Bhatt was beaten in the bronze medal bout of the men’s 84kg kumite category, while Alisha Choudhary lost 1-6 to Indonesia’s Cok Istri Agung Sanistyarani in the women’s -55kg kumite round of 16.

India also went down 0-3 to Malaysia in the men’s team Regu Group B sepaktakraw competition. In equestrian dressage, Ashish Limaye and Willy Be Dun finished 13th, Arjan Nagra and Cooley Goodwood placed 23rd, while Fouaad Mirza and Camouflage 38 ended the event in 26th position. India had also enjoyed a strong Day 2 at the Games. Himanshu Dhillon, Rudrankksh Patil and Parth Mane secured the silver medal in the men’s 10m air rifle team event. Dhillon and Patil subsequently added individual medals to India’s tally, while MMA fighter Suchika Tariyal also won a bronze.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from ANI.