The 20-year-old from Haryana's Bhiwani district has assured India of another medal in Aichi-Nagoya, and she isn't done yet.
India's medal count at the Asian Games just got another lift, and the credit goes to a boxer who's barely two years into her senior career. Priya Ghanghas beat Tajikistan's Mijgona Samadova 5-0 in the women's 60kg quarterfinal at Nishio Gymnasium on Monday, and with that win, she's already guaranteed at least a bronze for the country in Aichi-Nagoya.
The scoreline makes it sound comfortable, but it wasn't a walk in the park. Priya actually dropped the opening round on a 2-3 split, which could have rattled a less composed fighter. Instead, she reset, tightened her defense, and took over completely in the next two rounds to seal a unanimous decision. That kind of recovery under pressure has become something of a signature for her this year.
Not Her First Statement Win at These Games
This wasn't even Priya's toughest test of the tournament. She'd already knocked out a big name in the Round of 16, beating South Korea's Oh Yeon-ji — a two-time World medallist and an Olympian — also by a 5-0 margin. Beating an opponent with that kind of résumé this early in the competition was the first sign that Priya had come to Japan looking for more than just a participation medal.
Her next assignment is arguably the biggest of her career so far. Priya faces China's Yang Chengyu in the semifinal on Wednesday, September 30, with a place in the gold medal bout on the line. Chengyu isn't an easy draw either — she's a two-time World Championship medallist, with gold from 2023 and bronze from 2025. The two have actually met before, at this year's Asian Boxing Championships in Ulaanbaatar, where Priya got the better of her in the quarterfinal on her way to the continental title.
From Dhanana Village to India's Boxing Spotlight
Priya's story starts a long way from the bright lights of Aichi-Nagoya. She's from Dhanana, a small village in Haryana's Bhiwani district — a region that's practically synonymous with Indian boxing, having produced names like Vijender Singh and Akhil Kumar before her. She picked up the sport at just 11, when her father, Mahendra Ghanghas, took her to former national champion Ravi Sangwan for training alongside her older brother.
The family later moved to Bhiwani itself in 2022 so Priya could train full-time at the Sports Authority of India's boxing academy, where coach Mahavir took over her development. The results followed quickly — a national youth title in 2023, an Under-22 Asian silver in 2025, and then a jump to the 60kg category that changed everything. Since making that move, she's picked up gold at the Asian Boxing Championships and gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, both in 2026, entering this year's Asian Games as the reigning Asian champion in her weight class.
India's Boxing Squad Is Having a Strong Games
Priya's run adds to what's already shaping up as a solid outing for Indian boxing at these Games. Fellow boxers Lovlina Borgohain, Ankush Panghal, and Parveen Hooda have also confirmed medals in their respective categories, taking India's tally in the discipline to five before the semifinals had even wrapped up.
For Priya, though, the job isn't done. A win on Wednesday would put her one bout away from Asian Games gold — and given her form this year, nobody in the Indian camp is ruling it out.
