Taiwan's Huang, Chen reach Asian Boxing Championship finals

Taipei, April 6 (CNA) Two Taiwanese Olympic bronze medalists, Huang Hsiao-wen (黃筱雯) and Chen Nien-chin (陳念琴), advanced to the finals of the 2026 Asian Boxing Elite Championships in Mongolia on Monday after winning their semifinal bouts.

Huang, who finished third in the women's 51-kg division at the Tokyo Games in 2021, will compete for gold in the 54-kilogram division, while Chen, a bronze medalist in the women's 66-kg division at the Paris Olympics in 2024, will seek the title in the 65-kg division.

Both secured their spots in Thursday's finals by majority decision, following earlier semifinal losses by teammates Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) and Guo Yi-xuan (郭怡萱) in the women's 60- and 51-kg divisions, respectively.

Despite a one-point deduction, Huang narrowly defeated China's Zhao Xuan (趙軒), with two judges scoring the bout 29-27 in Huang's favor, two scoring it 28-28, and one awarding it to Zhao 29-27.

Meanwhile, Chen defeated India's Ankushita Boro in a two-round bout, with three judges scoring the bout 20-18 for Chen and two scoring it even.

Chen led after the first round, with three judges scoring it 10-9 in her favor and two giving the round to Boro.

The bout was briefly halted due to a power outage with 1 minute and 15 seconds remaining in the second round. When power was restored about 15 minutes later, judges based their decisions on the first two rounds, scoring the second round 10-9 for Chen across all five cards.

The tournament, World Boxing's first regional championship, has drawn more than 230 athletes from over 25 countries competing across 20 weight classes.