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Coach Santiago Nieva is confident Indian women boxers can win gold at the Commonwealth Games, aiming to surpass their 2022 medal haul.
The boxing events will get underway from July 24. (AFP Photo)
India’s women’s boxing team heads into the Commonwealth Games with genuine title ambitions, and head coach Santiago Nieva believes every member of the squad has what it takes to stand atop the podium.
Backed by a string of impressive performances over the past year, the Indian women have consistently featured among the medals at the World Cups, World Championships and Asian Championships, raising expectations ahead of the Games.
“We know we have a strong team. And we have set a high bar with expectations to do our best,” Nieva told news agency PTI.
“If we look at the results from this year, not only this year, even from the World Cup finals last year and onwards, most of our women boxers have won gold or maybe silver in the tournaments. So that’s our aim. We know that every one of them is capable of winning gold.”
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, India’s women secured three medals, with Nikhat Zareen and Nitu Ghanghas winning gold and Jaismine Lamboria taking bronze.
The Glasgow edition gets underway on July 23, with the boxing competition scheduled to begin on July 24.
Despite acknowledging the strength of traditional rivals England, Ireland and Australia, Nieva is confident India can at least match its Birmingham performance, if not improve on it.
“Obviously, we know that there are strong teams, especially England, Ireland and Australia. But I’d say we are capable of doing as good as we did last time or even better.”
Beyond the medal tally, Nieva views the Commonwealth Games as an important checkpoint before the Asian Games later this year and the Olympic qualification cycle, which starts in early 2027.
“(Apart from podiums) I want to see performance, improvement. Sometimes you meet a strong player in the first round itself and you get out. So it’s important to do overall analysis of the performance. If we have good performances in the end, that will lead to medals.
“But we also know that in competitive sports, at some point you need to win. This is one of our benchmark events. It is also an event where, theoretically, many of the top nations are not there in the Commonwealth.
“So we know we’re becoming strong. We are well-prepared. We are up to the challenge and our hope is to have many boxers on the top of the podium.”
Among the key Indian contenders is Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain, who will be competing in her third Commonwealth Games and aiming to win the only major medal absent from her collection.
Since moving up to the 75kg category, Lovlina’s results have dipped, with her standout achievements being the world championship title on home soil and the Asian Games silver medal in 2023.
Nieva said the coaching staff has concentrated on refining specific elements of the former world champion’s attacking approach.
“For me, one thing is her offensive boxing, how to cut off the ring better and control the centre of the ring, and how to better exploit mainly the right hand.
“She has a very good jab to the body, but the right hand to the body from long distance also gives her another variation to score from outside,” he elaborated.
“So there are a couple of these details which I think she can add to her boxing to better control the opponent. We have worked a little bit on that.”
With PTI Inputs
Head coach Santiago Nieva is focusing on Lovlina Borgohain’s offensive boxing, ring cutting, center control, and exploiting her right hand to improve her performance in the 75kg category.
About the Author
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience …Read More
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