With two gold and a silver at the Asian Games, after five gold and a silver at the Commonwealth Games, women’s boxing is on an upswing. The Asian Games haul was their best in the continental tournament, where India topped the medal table in women’s boxing as well as the overall boxing pile (three gold and as many bronze medals), edging out powerhouses like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and China. Indian women’s boxing Head coach Santiago Nieva talks to about the lessons from Japan, the gains and the challenges ahead.

Excerpts :

How do you rate this Asian Games campaign?

Obviously, we are super happy. We always want more, and we won two gold medals. Beforehand, there were very, very tough fights. We would end the year as the Asian Championship winner, and the number one in the CWG and Asian Games. Yes, we lost some of our top performers early, but overall we have never achieved results like this before. We have scored wins over stronger countries in Asia, like China, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

What was the biggest lesson from Japan?

For me, the main thing is to control the bout for nine minutes, not only two good rounds and then lose our shape. We need to look at how we can achieve this as efficiently as possible. We have seen clear improvements. A boxer has to try, and have different variations and become a universal boxer. You should be able to handle different styles and types of opponents. If you are winning, you have more options and, if you are down in the score, you have fewer options. You need to increase the pace, box at a higher pace and need to slow it down when necessary as well. All these things sound easy in theory, but as you can see, sometimes emotions take over, and you don’t make the best decisions. That’s what we aim to teach them. The biggest lesson is that we see that anything is possible. India ending up number one shows we are on the right track.

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On Parveen and Lovlina…

Parveen was not part of the Asian Championships and then lost in the first bout in CWG. She had some doubts, and we had a relook at the way she boxed. She had a very tough draw with three very difficult bouts. But she stepped up every time. The main focus was to manage the distance and not to rush in attacks. Basically, her footwork improved, and she managed the bouts much better. For Lovlina, this gold is a confidence booster. She has achieved a lot in her career, but after the Paris Olympics and World Championships, there was some pressure. In Glasgow, she had been close to winning before she lost 2-3 in the final. We knew Lovlina had it in her to win the title, and she had to beat two world-class opponents, Natalya Bogdanova and Ziyi Bao.

Preeti and Sakshi exited early, and Priya lost in the semis. How do you assess that?

I am not worried about them. They had been consistent the whole year. They lost close bouts against world-class opponents. But they will definitely be back. In Sakshi’s case, her offensive boxing and medium-distance boxing need a bit of upgrading, so that she doesn’t rely too much on her long-distance boxing. It’s difficult to say about Preeti. She is an all-round boxer, and she is at a very good level. But usually, she can start a little faster, and that’s something we need to work on. Priya is very young, and this is her first major competition year. So she has gained a lot of experience. She had been in many tough bouts, which she has come through. The only bout she has lost this year was in the semi-finals against Yang Chengyu, who she had beaten in Chengyu Asian Championships. Sometimes, she loses her balance, and a little bit of concentration. With more experience, she will improve.

What was the best bout, according to you?

It has to be Parveen’s semi-final win against Navbakhor Khamidova. If we look at the Uzbek’s record, she has beaten all other boxers, including Parveen. So you have some doubts. But when we trained, we had the belief that we could win. Then Parveen went into the bout and outclassed her. She managed the distance, she prepared her attacks and did not rush in. She kept a long distance when she attacked and did not fall in. The Uzbek ran out of ideas about how to attack Parveen. That’s the way we want to box.

The World Championships next year will be the first competition offering LA Olympics quotas. How do you see the challenge?

It will be a super tough competition, obviously. But I am confident we have the level to get qualifications at the World Championships. It will be a rehearsal for the Olympics too. Obviously, we have done well at the Asian level and the last Worlds too. We need to be able to control the different situations in our offensive and defensive boxing, when we are winning and when we are down. But the most important thing is understanding how to box in different distances, how to slow down and how to increase the pace, how to be effective in offensive boxing as well as defensive counterpunching boxing.