FOREIGN COACH TO ARRIVE BEFORE CWG: BFI CHIEF

Without a coach after Stephane Cottalorda’s unceremonious exit, India’s women boxers will have a replacement for the Frenchman before next year’s Commonwealth Games, boxing federation’s president Ajay Singh said on Thursday.

The country’s women boxers returned with a haul of a gold, a silver and five bronze medals from the recent Asian Championships in Vietnam.

The performance came despite the turmoil that rocked the national camp when Cottalorda resigned from his position in September, alleging delay in payment of salary and non-fulfilment of some commitments made to him.

The controversy, however, had little impact on the performance of the boxers in Vietnam.

“There will be a foreign coach for women boxers very soon, actually before the Commonwealth Games. We have shortlisted a few names,” Singh said here.

Currently, Sweden’s Santiago Nieva, who is the coach for senior men, is overseeing the women’s camp as the high performance director.

Meanwhile, M.C. Mary Kom, who returned from Vietnam on Thursday after winning her fifth Asian Championships gold medal, said her supreme fitness helped her feel invincible despite close to two decades in a contact sport.

“As long as I am training hard and my body is fit, I can beat anyone, bring it on. If I maintain the fitness levels, nobody can touch me,” she said.