Indians boxers not overawed by opponents now: Coach Nieva
NEWDELHI: Santiago Nieva is leading a resurgence in Indian boxing that had stopped due to squabbling administrators not long ago. A federation came up in 2016 and Nieva was hired a year later in March 2017. The youngsters have performed well under the Swedish coach.
Eight medals, including two gold at the Commonwealth Games, proved that boxing was on the right track. But Asian Games is a tougher test and Nieva has his fingers crossed as they prepare to take the acid test. But he is quietly confident too, having seen the transformation.
The likes of Gaurav Solanki (52kg), Amit Panghal (49kg), Hussamuddin Mohammed (56kg) emerged as the new faces of Indian boxing at Gold Coast.
Nieva says with quality training and medals in top events, there is a change in the mindset of the boxers. They are not overawed by the opponents anymore.
“It is very difficult to make predictions but we have prepared well and we have been doing well in all the tournaments, be it CWG, Chemistry Cup, etc. Our boys have beaten the Cubans, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Russians, Chinese,” Nieva said during the send-off ceremony on Tuesday.
“But Asian Games is the main competition for us. We know it is not about one or two opponents and the field will be tough, especially in lightweights. But we have the talent and we will give our best.”
It is not only the best boxers in each category, even the reserves are getting stronger. Mizoram’s Nutlai Lalbiakkima shocked Olympic gold medallist Hasanboy Dusmatov in the President’s Cup. “He is our No. 4 ranked boxer and still beat an Olympic champion. The more we win, these barriers (mental) will be easier to break,” he said.
Along with the youngsters, veteran Manoj Kumar (69kg), 2010 gold medallist Vikas Krishan (75kg) and comeback man Shiva Thapa (60kg) will add to the strength of the squad.
BIG SHOES TO FILL
The women’s squad might be missing two leading stars in Mary Kom and Sarita Devi but there will be no dearth of spark.
The likes of Sarjubala Devi (51kg), Sonia Lather (57kg) and Pavitra (60kg) are hungry for success.
“Mary Kom and Sarita Devi are big names but it is an opportunity for us to fill in the void and return with gold medals,” said Sonia.