Boxing Federation of India invites application for new foreign coach

NEW DELHI: The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has initiated the process of hiring a new foreign coach following a lackluster performance by the nation's boxers at the Paris Olympics. The decision comes in the wake of the Indian contingent's failure to secure any medals at the prestigious event.
Despite the presence of current world champions Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain, the Indian boxers were unable to replicate their earlier successes on the Olympic stage.
The six-member team's performance fell below expectations, marking a significant setback for Indian boxing. In contrast, India had managed to clinch a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, courtesy of Borgohain's impressive showing in the 69kg category.
"The Boxing Federation of India is looking for a foreign boxing coach for their elite national team in the upcoming four years of period," the BFI advertisement stated.
"The main goal in India is to achieve a top result in the upcoming Olympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth and other major competitions."
"Among the desirable skills, the best candidate could have the best boxing qualification, previous top experience in high performance with elite or youth national teams, produced medals in Olympic, Asian, European or World level, furthermore physically fit to demonstrate the technique to the athletes," it added.
Dmitry Dmitruk, the current foreign coach who assumed his position in February of the previous year, will continue to serve until the completion of his two-year agreement, despite the changes taking place.
"We have not even discussed about Dmitry. He will serve his contract," a BFI source told PTI.
"Generally all coaches are contracted for an Olympic cycle hence we have taken out the ad. We wanted some applications," the source added.
The newly appointed foreign coach will serve a tenure lasting four years.
Following the conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics, the boxing landscape has witnessed a series of personnel changes and departures.
Raffaele Bergamasco, the Women's High Performance Director, was the first to step down immediately after the Tokyo Games. Santiago Nieva, the men's HPD, followed suit in May 2022.
CA Kuttapa was initially replaced by Narendra Rana as the men's head coach, only for Kuttapa to be reinstated at a later stage.
Bhaskar Bhatt had a brief stint as the women's head coach before resigning from his role in June 2023. Bernard Dunne, who assumed the position of HPD in October 2022, unexpectedly stepped down four months prior to the Olympics, leaving Indian boxing in a state of uncertainty.
Following Dunne's departure, Dmitruk took charge of the team.
It has also come to light that the BFI intends to conduct a thorough evaluation of the boxers' performances in the upcoming Paris Olympics.