New Delhi: The Boxing Federation of India has opted to replace men’s chief coach C A Kuttappa with Army Sports Institute’s Narender Rana ahead of the world championships this month, which will also mark the conclusion of High-Performance Director Santiago Nieva’s stint.
Rana, a former Asian Championship bronze medalist and four-time national winner, is a seasoned coach with the Services Sports Control Board. At various periods of their careers, he has trained world championship medalists Amit Panghal and Manish Kaushik.
The development was confirmed to PTI by Kuttappa. “Yes, Mr. Rana will take over from me. I remain a part of the coaching staff although not as chief coach,” he said.
Meanwhile, churning in Indian boxing has persisted in the aftermath of the Indian team’s poor performance in the Tokyo Olympics, according to the national organisation. Raffaele Bergamasco, the women’s High-Performance Director, has already resigned when his contract was not extended. Mohd Ali Qamar, the women’s head coach, could potentially be replaced.
India sent its largest boxing squad ever to the Games in July-August, with five men and four women competing, and only Lovlina Borgohain finishing on the podium with a bronze medal. It was the country’s first Olympic boxing medal in nine years, but more was expected given the pugilists’ excellent form coming up to the finale.
In 2018, Kuttappa took over as men’s head coach. He is a Dronacharya awardee and has been a part of the support team for various key milestones in Indian boxing, including Vijender Singh’s bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Nieva was appointed in 2017 and has been given a contract extension till the World Championships to maintain continuity.
“In all likelihood, he will not continue after that,” said a federation source.
The mega-event begins on October 24 in Belgrade, Serbia, and the Indian lineup includes Asian medalists Deepak Kumar (51kg), Shiva Thapa (63.5kg), and Sanjeet Singh (92kg). The competition is only a few days away, but there is no word on when the national camp will begin before the boxers depart on October 20.
