CHENNAI: It's the beginning of a new cycle in Indian boxing. As pointed out by this newspaper in August, Former Irish professional boxer Bernard Dunne has officially taken over as India's new high performance director, a role that was vacant after the departure of Santiago Nieva.
The Boxing Federation of India (BFI), governing body of the sport in the country, made the announcement of Dunne joining the team on Monday.
"We are delighted to announce Bernard Dunne as the high-performance director of the Indian team. He was a legendary boxer and has also done exceptionally well while working with the Ireland team...With the amount of experience and success he has under his belt, he is the perfect fit for this role," BFI president Ajay Singh was quoted as saying in a release.
Dunne, 42, had a rich career as a professional boxer with 28 wins in 30 fights (15 wins by knockout). He was formerly with the Irish Athletic Boxing Association as their high performance director from 2017 until May this year. Dunne had earned high respect from many including Olympic gold medallist Kellie Harrington during his time there. This latest development is a massive boost for the Indians, who are aspiring to challenge for a medal in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
Dunne is currently at SAI NSNIS, Patiala and is expected to travel with the team during the upcoming Asian Championships, which is due to begin from October 30 in Amman, Jordan. Lovlina Borgohain, Shiva Thapa are some of the renowned names who aced the selection trials to be part of the squad for the continental event.
Indian boxers have shown their might in recent years in various competitions. Dunne is excited to work with the talent in store. "India has huge boxing talent and its boxers have been performing exceedingly well. It will be a great opportunity for me to work with them and contribute to their success. I'm very excited to join the team and take the standards of Indian boxing to a new high altogether," he was quoted as saying in the release.
We had earlier reported that he's on the verge of joining. Here's a link to that story.