[Nagoya AG] Boxers Jang Donghwan and Kim Minseong Fall in Slugfest but Take Valuable Silver Medals

Jang Donghwan Loses 0-5 to Khalokov in 60kg Final
Kim Minseong Falls 0-4 to Ankushi in 80kg Title Bout
No Gold in 12 Years Since Incheon Games

Korea's men's boxing team secured two valuable silver medals at the Asian Games.

The next-generation stars of Korean men's boxing, Jang Donghwan and Kim Minseong (both from Korea National Sport University), each claimed silver medals at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

For Korean men's boxing, the golden streak ended after Shin Jonghun (men's 49kg) and Ham Sangmyeong (56kg) earned gold at the Incheon Games. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Lim Aeji became the first female Korean boxer to win a bronze medal, but no male boxer earned a medal. Although Korea aimed for its first men's boxing gold in 12 years since the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, they had to settle for silver.

Jang Donghwan is punching the face of Uzbekistan's Abdumalick Halokov during the men's 60kg boxing final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Nishio Gymnasium in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 2nd. Nishio = Yonhap News Agency

On October 2, Jang Donghwan lost in the men's 60kg final at Nishio Gymnasium in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, with a unanimous 0–5 decision against Abdumalik Khalokov of Uzbekistan. Khalokov is the "dominant force" and world No. 1 in this weight class, having swept gold at the Asian Championships, the World Championships, the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

From the first round, Jang Donghwan fought fiercely and showed no signs of intimidation, putting on an evenly matched slugfest. However, Khalokov's experience shone through in the second round, as he consistently landed effective shots from a distance to accumulate points and executed clever clinches without drawing a warning from the referee when Jang closed the gap. Khalokov maintained control throughout the third round and saw out the final to victory.

Minseong Kim is attacking the face of Ankushee from India in the men's 90kg boxing final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held on the 2nd at Nishio Gymnasium in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Nishio = Yonhap News Agency

In the men's 80kg final that followed, Kim Minseong, ranked 10th in the world, lost by a 0–4 decision to India’s Ankushi, who is ranked 12th. Kim engaged Ankushi in a fierce and unpredictable contest, with both boxers exchanging explosive punches. However, Ankushi landed more clean shots, clinching the winning points to secure the championship.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.