Indian Boxing Team Is Better Prepared Than Many Other Countries For Tokyo Olympics: Santiago Nieva

Indian boxing has never looked so promising ahead of an Olympic Games. For the first time in the history of the Summer Games, nine boxers (five men and four women) will represent India in various weight categories. Success in Olympic boxing has been few and far between. Vijender Singh (Beijing 2008) and Mary Kom (London 2012) won bronze medals but this time, the sheer number of boxers qualifying for Tokyo 2020 on merit has been notable. Credit for this goes to the tireless work of high-performance director Santiago Nieva. The Swede, who has boxed for Argentina, has been the brain behind Indian boxing ever since he was given charge of both the men and women’s teams in September 2017. The 46-year-old, who quit the Swedish national team after Rio 2016, is currently in Italy with the Indian contingent. Excerpts from a conversation with Soumitra Bose:

What are you telling the boys and girls who are headed for Tokyo?

The most important thing is we are getting some good sparring in Assisi (in Italy) and are fully focused on Tokyo. We are fixing some issues that we see, not trying to change anything too much and concentrate on the good things we have done so far.

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As the high-performance director, are you happy with India’s preparation for the Games?

In general terms, I am very happy because we have achieved a lot of things des­pite the pandemic that has been a very difficult period for us. We had cases in the camp and we had to cancel the women’s camp at one point. But we have been able to participate in competitions and training camps which have been very important for us compared to many other countries. Participating in the Asian Championships in Dubai was very important, as well as being in Italy for the final phase of training.

Since the March 2020 qualifiers in Jordan till now, it’s been quite a journey for you and the boxers. What were the main challenges?

The main challenges were at the beginning. Four-and-a-half months without quality training, no camps and then trying to go out of India for competitions and training. The motivation to stay foc­used for the boxers was a big challenge. But those are the same challenges that everybody else faced. We were lucky that we were able to hold our Asia-Oceania qualifier before the pandemic and that was an advantage.

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There have been several camps and competitions for the boxers. Is there anything else that could have been done to prepare?

Yes, there are always things that could have been done but looking at the big picture, we are very happy how the preparation has gone. We have done a lot of things compared to many other countries who have not been able to go outside. We have gone for competitions regularly, come for camps in Europe and got good sparring even in the camps. BFI and SAI have made tremendous efforts to give the team the best preparation possible.

India never had so many boxers qualifying for an Olympics. Does it reflect on a strategy that bodes well for the future?

Yes, definitely. It demonstrates India’s strength, shows that we are doing something right. We certainly think there is room for improvement and we can do even better in the future. We have put a system into place and there is definitely more to do.

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India got a record haul of medals at the Asian championships in Dubai. How exc­ited are you in terms of replicating even one-third of this in Tokyo?

In the Asian championships in Dubai we had a strong showing but we cannot count those medals vis-a-vis our chances in the Olympics. This year some countries like China, Korea and Japan were missing in the Asian championships and the Olympics will be totally different. But looking at the whole Olympic cycle, we have been getting medals in all the major competitions like several world championships in a row. But we can’t count the Olympic medals beforehand. We will take one day at a time and are very confident in our work.

We have seen that the Olympics are an entirely different cup of tea. You would have surely told the boxers this....

Yes, the Olympics are different, but we have a very expe­rienced team. Some have Olympic experience and others have played in Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the world championships. These may not be the Olympics but are quite similar in terms of competition. Our team is a good mix of youth and experience and we have proven that we have what it needs to excel and we need to do it again at the Olympics. It is same for the other countries as well. We have to downplay the huge importance of an Olympics and treat it like another competition.

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Amit Panghal, Mary Kom, Pooja Rani, Sanjit ...the medal hopes are many. What are your realistic expectations and why?

Yes, we have many medal candidates. Our world championship medals indicate what we are capable of. But an Olympic medal can’t be compared to any other. Logically and mathematically, we should get a couple of medals but again, this is a different competition and we have to take one bout at a time and our goal has always been the same—win medals in both the men’s and women’s competitions.  Hopefully, we will achieve that this time.

Any dark horses and surprises that we can expect?

I can’t say who will be the dark horse or can create a surprise. I think anyone in this team can win a medal and that’s not a surprise. All our boxers at some point in time have beaten world-class opposition and won medals at the highest levels and we are confident that anyone in this team, on their best day, can reach the medal rounds.

The boxers will be flying to Tokyo from Italy. Do you think the Covid regulations in Japan will impact the boxers’ mental preparation?

We are already prepared. For the last one-and-a-half years we have been living in these conditions and it’s nothing different from other boxers. So, it’s something we have to deal with. Obviously, it is tough sometimes, but it’s the new normal and should not be an issue. 

(This appeared in the print edition as "India Is Better Prepared Than Many Other Countries")