Li Xiaofeng, the executive deputy director of the sports department at the Guangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee, said that the decision was made in conjunction with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge is a strong advocate of women's boxing and he pushed through the decision to make it an Olympic sport last year.

Women's boxing, which first came to prominence in England in 1720, appeared as a demonstration sport at the 1904 Olympics but did not reappear on the radar until a vain attempt to have it introduced into the Games failed in 2005.

The Asian Games, and the Olympics, will have three categories -- flyweight, lightweight and middleweight.

It will be an ideal opportunity for Kom to shine but she will face fierce opposition from the Chinese who have already said that they plan to target winning two of the three gold medals available in London.

Kom, the four-time world champion, is expected to be one of the stars of London 2012 and is already having to cope with the heavy burden in India of being tipped as potentially the country's first-ever female gold medallist.

The Asian Games, the second-largest sports event in the world after the Summer Olympics, will be held in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou from November 12-27.

More than 14,000 athletes, trainers and coaches from 45 countries and regions will compete in 42 sports.

A number of other women's sports are also due to make their debut in the Asian Games, including kabaddi, water polo, cricket, roller sports, dragon boat racing, weiqi and xiangqi.


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