Within hours, four sportspersons from Haryana, wrestler Sujeet Kalakal of Charkhi Dadri, boxers Ankush Panghal of Hisar and Parveen Hooda of Rohtak, and archer Kirti Sharma of Jind , won gold at Asian Games on Friday, triggering celebrations in their native villages and adding another memorable chapter to Haryana’s long association with Indian sport.
Born into a farming family, he initially played kabaddi and even won a district-level gold. The fighter from village Rurki defeated Taiwan’s Chen Nien-Chin, a world champion and Olympic bronze medallist. Before leaving home for the competition, Parveen had promised her family that she would return with a medal this time. “We are very proud of our daughter. “This is the result of the struggle our family has gone through. She has worked very hard to help bring our family out of poverty,” she added. His father, Dayanand Kalakal, is a wrestling coach with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) at Sonipat. Ankush’s journey began not in a boxing ring but on a kabaddi court. His father Suresh Panghal, a former national-level kabaddi player, persuaded him to switch to boxing. His father and coach Praveen Sawant convinced him to continue.
International boxer Parveen Hooda from Rohtak’s Rurki village has etched her name in history by winning the gold medal at the Asian Games 2026. When Ankush was just 11, Suresh began making a daily 15-km journey to take him to training and bring him home. After Ankush lost the 2018 state championship final, he considered quitting the sport. Ankush went on to win a World Championship silver in 2025 and a Commonwealth Games gold before adding the Asian Games title to his record.
She has done what she promised us — to win a gold medal,” said Parveen’s mother, Neelam Hooda. He watched his son’s triumph with pride and said Sujeet had left home promising that he would return with gold. “He has not lost a bout since 2025,” Dayanand said, adding that defeating an Olympic champion in the latter’s own country was a major achievement. His next target, he said, is an Olympic gold.
On Friday, Kirti, along with Kumkum Mahod and Ankita Bhakat, helped India defeat 10-time champions South Korea 5-3 in the women’s recurve team final at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Multipurpose Square. Kirti Sharma, who was more interested in studies than sport as a child, became an Asian Games champion after being introduced to archery almost by chance at her school. Similarly, in Jind’s Ritoli village, the fourth gold brought a different kind of sporting story. “I had no idea that the bow would be so expensive and I had only two acres of land.
But I was always clear that I would leave no stone unturned for my children’s future,” her father Vijay told the media persons. Kirti’s mother, Guddi Devi, said she spoke to her daughter over the phone soon after her gold-medal victory, sharing the family’s joy over the historic achievement.
