Interview | Boxers for Asian Championships based on rankings, performance: Santiago Nieva
CHENNAI: With several coronavirus cases in national camps in recent times, Indian boxers' — both men and women — training have been far from ideal.
India men's high performance director Santiago Nieva, a man known for meticulous planning, has had to make several adjustments in his bid to keep the boxers' spirit intact.
In a chat with The New Indian Express, Nieva admitted that it has been taxing for everyone, but said that it is vital to stay focussed ahead of Olympics.
The Argentina-born Swede is hopeful that the boxers can get some action during the Asian Championships and said that the team for the continental event will be named based on their rankings and performance. Excerpts...
On Covid cases and how that affected training
The situation is a little bit tricky because we had several cases in the camp. On the other hand, we have to adapt to reality. We have to keep the focus. The focus is still the Olympics, we have to ensure that we don't lose that focus. Obviously, it has become little difficult. There have been times we've been unable to do sparring or enter the boxing hall. Despite that, we continue our preparation with Olympics in mind. Most boxers, when they got the virus, had been asymptomatic, especially at the beginning. But then, there were other boxers who had symptoms, but relatively mild. And there were a few cases where the boxers had to be taken to the hospital though not serious. Everybody recovered and returned to training eventually.
On measures being taken
When we came back from Russia (Governor's Cup), we were staying apart from the other group. We had different training hours, we had different equipment. We have been strictly following the SAI guidelines. But sometimes, it's hard to say if it's 100 per cent foolproof but we're trying to do the best we can.
On Ashish Kumar's return to ring
Ashish was asymptomatic when he contracted the virus. Yes, of course he was confined to a tiny room (in Spain) and he could only do little shadow boxing and that was frustrating. When he returned, it didn't make sense for him to join the camp as he had to spend some time in quarantine. So going to Russia (Governor's Cup) was good for him. He could at least do some amount of training/sparring there. He lost a close bout. Overall, it was good for him to return to competitive environment. Now, he is back in the camp.
On changes and remaining flexible
Asian Championships is our last competition before the Olympics. Under the current circumstances it's tough to tell (if that will be possible). I'm someone who likes to have everything planned in a proper manner. I don't like having to redo plans. But now it's important to be flexible and stay cool and not get frustrated because of changes. This is becoming a new normal. Coaches from other countries have also had same situation or even worse. At least we had our qualification, the European boxers are still waiting for their qualification.
On trials for Asian Championships
It's not possible to conduct the trials. We have to go with the highest-ranked boxers. These are extreme circumstances. No judges, selection committee members can come inside (Patiala training camp). They have to stay in quarantine for at least a week. So, we have to pick the boxers based on their rankings and their performance.
On BFI executive director RK Sacheti
It's a big loss for Indian boxing and the world of boxing. Sacheti did a lot not only for Indian boxing but he was well respected in Asian Confederation and AIBA. He was the mastermind behind organisations of two World Championships and was building up a system where India has become a powerhouse in amateur boxing. There were so much more that was to come. It is a big loss. From the highest level to small things, he was involved in everything. He did not only care about Olympics and Asian Games, he was always involved in the youth and junior teams too. He always aspired for more, he wanted us to think big and not be happy with what we achieve.