Indian boxer Sumit Kundu suffered a heartbreaking exit from the Asian Games 2026 on Thursday after being forced to retire from his men’s 70kg round-of-16 bout against Iraq’s Ali Qasim Al-Sarray because of a knee injury.

Kundu appeared to be on course for a place in the quarter-finals, having built a commanding 3-0 lead after two rounds. With just one round left to negotiate, victory seemed within touching distance before a heavy punch in the third round changed the course of the contest.

Knee injury ends promising bout

Kundu suffered an awkward fall after taking the punch and was subsequently seen limping as he made his way back to his corner.

Medical staff attended to the Indian boxer, but after receiving treatment, Kundu decided to withdraw from the contest. His retirement handed Al-Sarray a place in the quarter-finals, bringing a premature end to what had been a dominant performance from the Indian.

The result was particularly painful for Kundu, who had looked in strong form during his Asian Games campaign and was just minutes away from securing another victory.

Kundu had set his sights on gold

Kundu had stormed into the pre-quarter-finals after securing a unanimous decision victory over Thailand’s Bunjong Sinsiri.

The Indian boxer had entered the Asian Games determined to make an impact after missing out on a medal at the Commonwealth Games. His performances in his first two bouts had offered encouragement before the knee injury brought his campaign to an abrupt halt.

Following his victory over Sinsiri, Kundu had made his ambitions clear, telling AFP: “I will win a medal for my family.”

“I will go for gold,” he added.

Those ambitions were still alive as he entered his round-of-16 contest against Al-Sarray, only for the injury to deny him a chance to complete the fight.

India’s medal hunt at Asian Games 2026

India had made a relatively slow start to the Asian Games 2026 while aiming to improve on its best-ever medal tally of 107 medals, including 28 golds, achieved at the previous edition.

The country had won 14 medals so far, including one gold in cricket, at the time of Kundu’s bout.

Kundu’s withdrawal represents another setback for India’s boxing contingent, with the boxer’s injury cutting short a campaign in which he had shown considerable promise.