BFI Appoints Santiago Nieva as Head Coach of Indian Women’s Boxing Team

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has announced the appointment of Santiago Nieva as the Head Coach of the Indian Women’s National Boxing Team, signalling a major strategic move ahead of a crucial Olympic cycle.

The Swedish high-performance expert, who previously served as India’s High Performance Director from 2017 to 2021, returns at a moment when Indian women’s boxing is experiencing unprecedented momentum on the global stage.

The timing of Nieva’s re-entry is significant. Indian women have delivered a string of standout results in 2025, headlined by a dominant performance at the World Boxing Cup Finals in Greater Noida, where the team swept the medals table with seven gold, one silver and two bronze medals. Perhaps more crucially, many of these podium finishes came in Olympic weight divisions, reinforcing India’s depth and competitiveness heading into the Los Angeles 2028 cycle. The BFI’s decision to bring back one of its most influential high-performance architects is tied directly to the ambition of converting this momentum into consistent global success.

Nieva’s mandate is clear: establish India as a sustained medal contender across all seven Olympic women’s weight categories. With LA28 marking the second successive Games with full weight parity for women, the federation is investing heavily in strengthening technical systems, scientific training frameworks and long-term athlete development pathways. Nieva’s arrival is anticipated to accelerate this process.

Expressing his enthusiasm about returning to India, Nieva said, “Super excited to come back to India. I had five wonderful years here in my previous stint. I am very much looking forward to this next chapter, and hopefully, we can create something big together. I have had great success working with women boxers in the past. There is huge potential within the Indian women’s team, and in LA 2028, we’ll be aiming for something big and create history.”

The Swedish tactician brings with him over two decades of elite international coaching experience, spanning three continents. After his earlier tenure with India, Nieva most recently led Boxing Australia’s High Performance Unit as National Head Coach and Technical Lead, overseeing their strategic rebuild. Before that, he played a pivotal role in strengthening Sweden’s national boxing structure as Head Coach and Sports Director, guiding athletes across World Championships, Olympic qualifiers and major multisport competitions.

Within India, Nieva is widely regarded as a transformative figure. His earlier stint saw the introduction of structured performance analysis systems, long-term competition planning and sharper athlete monitoring mechanisms. Under his leadership, India celebrated historic success at the 2019 Men’s World Championships, where Amit Panghal claimed the country’s first-ever silver and Manish Kaushik bagged bronze. His high-performance framework also contributed to India fielding its largest boxing contingent at the Tokyo Olympics, with Lovlina Borgohain winning a breakthrough bronze.

BFI President Ajay Singh underscored the strategic significance of Nieva’s appointment, stating, “Santiago’s appointment signals an important step forward for our women’s programme. He brings a top-tier blend of technical excellence and international insight that will add tremendous value to the system. Our athletes have shown they can rise to the world’s toughest platforms, and with Santiago guiding their progression, we are confident of strengthening India’s presence and ambition at the world’s biggest stages.”

Singh also acknowledged the contributions of D. Chandralal, who previously served as the head coach of the elite women’s team. Chandralal, he affirmed, will continue to remain an integral part of the Indian coaching staff, ensuring continuity in the athletes’ development.

Nieva’s return comes at a time when India’s women boxers are redefining benchmarks. The current group features a mix of experienced internationals and a fast-rising crop of young prospects breaking through at continental and world levels. With the LA28 qualification pathway expected to intensify through 2026 and 2027, the BFI believes that a robust high-performance leadership structure will be crucial in turning emerging potential into Olympic success.

The task ahead is challenging but full of promise. India has shown over the past decade that it can compete with the world’s best in women’s boxing. With Santiago Nieva back at the helm, the federation hopes to transition from sporadic success to sustained excellence building a programme capable of delivering multiple podium finishes at the biggest stages.