The aim is to win more than a single medal in Los Angeles: Nieva

Santiago Nieva, the erstwhile precocious show manager of Indian boxing, has returned arsenic the caput manager of the Indian women’s boxing team. After India returned empty-handed from Paris 2024, Nieva was hired by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) with an purpose to assistance the state triumph medals successful Los Angeles 2028.

With India having immoderate beardown women boxers, who landed medals successful the World championships successful Liverpool and the World Boxing Cup Finals successful Greater Noida this year, it volition beryllium absorbing to spot however Nieva guides them successful the run-up to the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games successful 2026 and the Olympics successful 2028.

In an enactment with The Hindu, Nieva spoke astir his priorities and plans. Excerpts:

What brought you backmost to India? And what other tin you bring to the table?

I ever had a bully narration with BFI. When they reached out, they came with an absorbing proposal. I got funny erstwhile we talked backmost and forth. In the end, I made a determination and wanted to travel back. I enjoyed my stint successful India (2017-22). The anticipation was backmost present with little than 3 years for the Olympics. I similar the project. I’m precise excited to travel backmost and effort to get those Olympic medals. I deliberation my acquisition successful general, successful planetary boxing, and besides that I person bully cognition of Indian boxing from my erstwhile acquisition volition assistance maine bash a bully job.

What’s the learning from your erstwhile stint? And however antithetic volition your attack beryllium this time?

Having spent 5 years successful Patiala taught maine a lot. So it should beryllium overmuch easier this time. The programme is overmuch much developed present than it was successful 2017 erstwhile I came for the archetypal time. And besides my acquisition and competence are besides evidently higher now. I deliberation it’s a bully match. Hopefully, I volition beryllium capable to lend a batch much to Indian boxing.

Are we going to spot immoderate changes successful the grooming pattern?

I don’t cognize immoderate details of however the grooming was done before. First, I request to spell there. India has had bully results. So I’m definite determination are a batch of things that person been done well. I person evidently my philosophy, my erstwhile acquisition successful India, my added work, which I did successful Australia (before this). I’m definite determination are galore of those things that tin beryllium implemented. And I’m definite determination are besides a batch of things that are being done that we tin keep.

The appraisal process for the enactment for the large events, are we going to spot immoderate changes?

Look, it’s not a one-man decision. I request to talk to the BFI. I person heard bully things astir the assessment. I haven’t seen it for myself, truthful it’s hard to springiness an opinion. I request to spot it for myself. I person ever said that enactment trials arsenic the lone mode to prime a squad is precise aged school.

I deliberation it’s outdated. It doesn’t mean that you can’t person a enactment trial. But arsenic the lone mode to prime a team, I deliberation it’s outdated. I’m funny successful seeing this assessment. And I besides deliberation it’s not a large happening for maine to prime a team. That’s portion of our job. As a coach, you request to beryllium capable to prime the champion team. Otherwise, you can’t beryllium a coach. Nobody wants to spell with the third-best oregon fourth-best boxer. We privation to spell with the champion boxer. I’m assured that we tin negociate that.

What volition beryllium your attack for the contiguous challenges, including Asian championships?

Obviously, we person a abbreviated time. When I get there, we volition person finalised the National championships and determination volition beryllium a abbreviated clip to hole for Asian championships and past for the Commonwealth Games. It volition beryllium a hectic archetypal 19 months with galore apical competitions. But yes, we person besides well-established boxers. They had a large twelvemonth successful 2025. I’m assured we volition go good prepared for those competitions.

How are you going to attack LA 2028? Are you going to enactment connected seat spot successful definite weights?

I deliberation the purpose should beryllium to suffice successful each the weights. So I americium beauteous assured that we volition person bully capable boxers to beryllium capable to suffice successful each the weights. Obviously, it volition beryllium hard to suffice successful each the weights, but that indispensable beryllium our aim.

And each azygous boxer should beryllium bully capable truthful that with a small spot of luck oregon bully performance, they tin triumph medals astatine the Olympics. So the purpose is to triumph much than a azygous medal successful LA.

Considering the constricted options successful heavier weights, bash you person clip to place and enactment connected caller talent?

I person lone seen the fig 1 boxers. I don’t cognize what comes from the younker (programme). I person not studied that. I volition person to find retired for myself erstwhile we person the Nationals and we person the boxers successful the campy and spot what spot bash we have. But I’m not precise worried. I’m definite we volition person a precise competitory squad for 2028.

Can we expect a bigger relation for the strength-and-conditioning (SnC) guys this time?

I person nary thought what relation they person had lately. I cognize that I brought successful the archetypal SnC. We had the archetypal SnC people successful 2017. I brought successful SnC adept Rickard Nilsson, who came galore times during 2 years. And past we had the archetypal afloat clip SnC with Dan Jefferson from Scotland, who worked with maine for a mates of years.

So the SnC is an important portion of precocious show grooming and it needs to beryllium getting a important role. But I don’t cognize however it has been handled successful the erstwhile years. So I person nary sentiment connected that.

What’s your program for camps and tournaments? Are you going backmost to European countries oregon bash you person antithetic destinations successful mind?

We’re going to beardown tournaments. For galore years now, particularly since COVID, determination person been little tournaments successful Asia and galore tournaments successful Europe. But now, with these World Cup events, they’re backmost successful Asia. So determination is 1 World Cup lawsuit successful China and different 1 successful Uzbekistan. We person Asian championships.

So we are going wherever determination are beardown challenges and astir of the tournaments are successful Asia oregon successful Europe. But we besides present person Brazil, which is organising a World Cup event.

Sometimes we request to nonstop boxers to smaller tournaments oregon processing tournaments. But otherwise, we privation to enactment successful the strongest tournaments. Now we person these World Cup competitions, which is an absorbing conception wherever we privation to effort to participate. But we person to spot strategically what works champion for us. If determination are tournaments successful Asia, usually we privation to prioritise that. It’s little question time. It’s galore times cheaper. But sometimes determination are much tournaments successful Europe.