The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has appointed Santiago Nieva as the head coach of the Indian women’s national boxing team, marking the return of one of world boxing’s most accomplished high-performance leaders.
The Swedish tactician, who previously served as India’s high-performance director from 2017 to 2021, steps back into the system as the nation enters a crucial new Olympic cycle.
The national women’s team recently completed a medal sweep at the World Boxing Cup Finals 2025 in Greater Noida, finishing with seven gold, one silver, and two bronze medals, with several podiums coming in key Olympic weight categories.
With the Los Angeles 2028 cycle intensifying and Olympic parity across seven women’s divisions, Nieva will work on establishing Indian women as consistent global medal contenders across all weight categories.
Speaking on the occasion, Nieva said, “I have had great success working with women boxers in the past. There is a huge potential within the Indian women’s team, and in LA (Olympics 2028), we’ll be aiming for something big and create history.”
Nieva brings over two decades of elite international coaching experience, having held some of the most influential high-performance roles in world boxing.
BFI president Ajay Singh said, “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.”
He also commended the significant contribution made by D. Chandralal, the former head coach of the women’s team, and said that he will continue to remain a very important part of the Indian coaching team.
Nieva’s previous tenure with India left a lasting imprint on the country’s high-performance structure. Under his guidance, Indian boxing earned two podium finishes at the 2019 Men’s World Championships—Amit Panghal’s historic silver and Manish Kaushik’s bronze—before the nation fielded its largest-ever Olympic boxing squad at Tokyo 2020, where Lovlina Borgohain secured a breakthrough bronze.
Published on Nov 28, 2025