<p>Bengaluru: Indian boxing is going through a tricky phase after drawing a blank at the Paris Olympics. Amid high expectations from the likes of Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain, who bagged World Championships titles in the build-up to the quadrennial event, the country’s boxers have failed to replicate their success where it matters the most.</p>.<p>Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has turned to former men’s head coach and high-performance director Santiago Nieva to solve the big puzzle. The 50-year-old Argentine, whose first stint lasted from 2017 to 2021, is all set to join as India’s head coach by late December or early January with LA Olympics being the main thing on his agenda.</p>.<p><em>DH</em> caught up with the coach from Australia, where he is wrapping up his successful stint with the Australian boxing (eight international medals, including two at the Paris Olympics). Excerpts...</p>.<p><strong>After a four-year stint in the past in India and then a successful time in Australia, what brought you back?</strong></p>.<p>I was always in touch with India and BFI recently contacted me and said they are interested in me coming back. Obviously, I have had good years in India and that helped in maintaining good relations. I was myself keen to come back as well, that's why the negotiation went smoothly.</p>.<p><strong>How would you see your stint in Australia and how different was the experience from Indian boxing?</strong></p>.<p>The experience in Australia was amazing. When I came here, I realised we had much less resources than I had in India despite having a strong boxing tradition. When I look back now, I got a very positive environment and that led to the eight medals. The stay has gone beyond my expectations and I feel satisfied.</p>.<p><strong>Coming back to your upcoming role, how different is your role this time than your previous one as high performance director with the likes of Raffaele Bergamasco (former women's HPD) working with you earlier?</strong></p>.<p>When I arrived last time, I was hired as the elite men's coach and then my role grew to high performance director. The federation was new and wanted to streamline things with a good support from the government. There were so many things to develop. What excites me this time is the amount of boxing talent that exists in India. Performances at the last two World Championships are an example of that. My goal is to translate all that at the LA Olympics.</p>.<p><strong>Will it be right to say this time we are getting Santiago 2.0, who understands the Indian boxing culture and system better than your first stint?</strong></p>.<p>I don't know about that because last time it didn't take me too long to settle in. Of course, there were hurdles but I always believed in seeing the big picture and that made my work smooth. But yes, with all the experience from the past, and my ongoing international boxing experience, I am ready to take on the tremendous project to lead Indian boxing.</p>.<p><strong>Your last stint had big names such as Mary Kom, Sarita Devi among others while the current generation has Nikhat, Lovlina and more. However, the men's boxing, something you were in charge of earlier, seems to be on a downward trend with the likes of Amit Panghal and Shiva Thapa not meeting the expectations in the past couple of years. How do you look to address that?</strong></p>.<p>We need to have success in both men's and women's boxing. There's no reason to think men can't win medals at World Championships and Olympics. In 2023, three men boxers won medals at the World Championships which is why I am hopeful of turning around things and getting medals in both men's and women's.</p>.<p><strong>Since your stint starts early next year, there will be expectations from you to deliver at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. Where does it figure in your plans?</strong></p>.<p>Yes, it's very much in our plans. Any competition we go to, we go with the objective to win. At CWG, I believe we have the chance to break previous records and at the Asian Games, the objective is to bag as many gold medals as possible.</p>.<p><strong>CWG and Asiad may also carry ranking points for major event qualifications and could be the norm going forward for all big-ticket events. Do you feel it's favourable for Indian boxers in comparison to the previous qualifying events, especially when you have always stressed on picking your best boxers well in advance for big-ticket events?</strong></p>.<p>It's difficult to talk about at this point because I am yet to see the impact of it. The important point is to pick the best boxers, as long as that happens, we have nothing to worry about. So far I have heard good things about it but I will reserve my thoughts on it until I experience it.</p>.<p><strong>How was the experience of working with Indian coaches at your last stint? Was it tricky given that many of the elite boxers had their personal coaches?</strong></p>.<p>I never had any trouble working with the Indian coaches. They were always welcoming. In those five years, there were instances of not agreeing on certain things but that's how it works, people will always disagree. It's my job to find a solution and get along but there were never major differences and that's why I was able to last five years and able to return.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Indian boxing is going through a tricky phase after drawing a blank at the Paris Olympics. Amid high expectations from the likes of Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain, who bagged World Championships titles in the build-up to the quadrennial event, the country’s boxers have failed to replicate their success where it matters the most.</p>.<p>Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has turned to former men’s head coach and high-performance director Santiago Nieva to solve the big puzzle. The 50-year-old Argentine, whose first stint lasted from 2017 to 2021, is all set to join as India’s head coach by late December or early January with LA Olympics being the main thing on his agenda.</p>.<p><em>DH</em> caught up with the coach from Australia, where he is wrapping up his successful stint with the Australian boxing (eight international medals, including two at the Paris Olympics). Excerpts...</p>.<p><strong>After a four-year stint in the past in India and then a successful time in Australia, what brought you back?</strong></p>.<p>I was always in touch with India and BFI recently contacted me and said they are interested in me coming back. Obviously, I have had good years in India and that helped in maintaining good relations. I was myself keen to come back as well, that's why the negotiation went smoothly.</p>.<p><strong>How would you see your stint in Australia and how different was the experience from Indian boxing?</strong></p>.<p>The experience in Australia was amazing. When I came here, I realised we had much less resources than I had in India despite having a strong boxing tradition. When I look back now, I got a very positive environment and that led to the eight medals. The stay has gone beyond my expectations and I feel satisfied.</p>.<p><strong>Coming back to your upcoming role, how different is your role this time than your previous one as high performance director with the likes of Raffaele Bergamasco (former women's HPD) working with you earlier?</strong></p>.<p>When I arrived last time, I was hired as the elite men's coach and then my role grew to high performance director. The federation was new and wanted to streamline things with a good support from the government. There were so many things to develop. What excites me this time is the amount of boxing talent that exists in India. Performances at the last two World Championships are an example of that. My goal is to translate all that at the LA Olympics.</p>.<p><strong>Will it be right to say this time we are getting Santiago 2.0, who understands the Indian boxing culture and system better than your first stint?</strong></p>.<p>I don't know about that because last time it didn't take me too long to settle in. Of course, there were hurdles but I always believed in seeing the big picture and that made my work smooth. But yes, with all the experience from the past, and my ongoing international boxing experience, I am ready to take on the tremendous project to lead Indian boxing.</p>.<p><strong>Your last stint had big names such as Mary Kom, Sarita Devi among others while the current generation has Nikhat, Lovlina and more. However, the men's boxing, something you were in charge of earlier, seems to be on a downward trend with the likes of Amit Panghal and Shiva Thapa not meeting the expectations in the past couple of years. How do you look to address that?</strong></p>.<p>We need to have success in both men's and women's boxing. There's no reason to think men can't win medals at World Championships and Olympics. In 2023, three men boxers won medals at the World Championships which is why I am hopeful of turning around things and getting medals in both men's and women's.</p>.<p><strong>Since your stint starts early next year, there will be expectations from you to deliver at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. Where does it figure in your plans?</strong></p>.<p>Yes, it's very much in our plans. Any competition we go to, we go with the objective to win. At CWG, I believe we have the chance to break previous records and at the Asian Games, the objective is to bag as many gold medals as possible.</p>.<p><strong>CWG and Asiad may also carry ranking points for major event qualifications and could be the norm going forward for all big-ticket events. Do you feel it's favourable for Indian boxers in comparison to the previous qualifying events, especially when you have always stressed on picking your best boxers well in advance for big-ticket events?</strong></p>.<p>It's difficult to talk about at this point because I am yet to see the impact of it. The important point is to pick the best boxers, as long as that happens, we have nothing to worry about. So far I have heard good things about it but I will reserve my thoughts on it until I experience it.</p>.<p><strong>How was the experience of working with Indian coaches at your last stint? Was it tricky given that many of the elite boxers had their personal coaches?</strong></p>.<p>I never had any trouble working with the Indian coaches. They were always welcoming. In those five years, there were instances of not agreeing on certain things but that's how it works, people will always disagree. It's my job to find a solution and get along but there were never major differences and that's why I was able to last five years and able to return.</p>