'Want women boxers to set bigger Olympic goals'

Santiago Nieva is looking forward to spending Christmas with his family, but he will also feel at home when he arrives at the NIS, Patiala around the new year. Having quit his role with Boxing Australia, the Swede of Argentinian origin is gearing up for a second stint as the head coach of the Indian women's squad.

- Shantanu Srivastava

Nieva's excitement at his return to India is understandable, considering the talent that he will guide. The women boxers have been on a roll this year, winning medals at the World Boxing Cup, World Championships, as well as the season-ending World Boxing Cup Finals where they won 10 medals, including seven gold.

The man who was part of the Indian system from 2017 to 2022 knows that winning what he calls “big medals” is what will truly determine his legacy. His earlier stint saw the Indian men win two World Championships medals, including a silver by Amit Panghal that remains the best result for an Indian man at the Worlds. Nieva was also around when Lovlina Borgo hain took a bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

“It's important to secure medals at the Olympics because that is what is missing (for India). The Indian women have been doing great at the World Championships for many years. We now need to take that momentum to the (2026) Asian Games where there has not been a gold medal in a long time,” he said.

India didn’t win a boxing medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics while the last Asian Games gold was won by Amit Panghal (lightfly) in 2018.