Updated on: Oct 29, 2025 12:02 am IST
The former HPD is in contention for a senior coaching role with the senior women’s team, it is learned
New Delhi: Santiago Nieva, who served as the High Performance Director (HPD) with Boxing Federation of India (BFI) for five years, is likely to return to India in a senior coaching role with the women’s team.
The Swede is currently serving as the head coach of Boxing Australia’s (BA) High Performance unit and is yet to resign, it has been learned. While the BFI is keen on getting Nieva back, his contract is being worked out by SAI. Pending ministry’s go-ahead, Nieva will join the women’s team as high-performance coach.
The post of HPD, however, is vacant since Irishman Bernard Dunne resigned last March following team’s disastrous show at the Olympic qualifiers in Italy where Indian boxers failed to win a single Olympics quota. The BFI is still following the assessment and evaluation system — introduced by Dunne — at the national camp.
The women’s team, currently coached by Dronacharya awardee D Chandralal, won four medals at this year’s World Championships, including two gold medals and will look to add more laurels at next month’s World Cup Final in Greater Noida. Earlier this year, the women excelled at the second stage of the World Boxing Cup held in Astana, grabbing three gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
Nieva’s earlier stint with the Indian national team began in 2017 and was highlighted by twin medals at the 2019 men’s World Championships where Amit Panghal clinched a silver and Manish Kaushik won a bronze.
Two years on, India sent their largest-ever boxing contingent to Tokyo Olympics after nine pugilists qualified for the Games with Lovlina Borgohain winning a bronze medal in the women’s 69kg event.
According to sources, Nieva is awaiting a final confirmation from sports ministry before putting in his papers. As of now, there are no foreign coaches with the senior teams with BFI preferring Indian coaches following Russian Dmitry Dmitruk’s exit after Paris Olympics.
