Olympics Begin In
:
Days
:
Hours
:
Mins
 
Secs
Begin typing your search above and press return to search.

Boxing

Commonwealth Games 2018: Indian boxing coaches left out of traveling contingent

Commonwealth Games 2018: Indian boxing coaches left out of traveling contingent
X
By

Press Releases

Published: 17 March 2018 4:15 PM GMT
The Indian boxing contingent left for Gold Coast earlier today but the send off ceremony had an unusual twist to it. In a bizzare and inexplicable move, coaches were left out of the squad for the Commonwealth Games. Both of India's chief boxing coaches SR Singh and Shiv Singh have been left out of the contingent for the Gold Coast Games. The Men's chief coach SR Singh and women's chief coach Shiv Singh will, however, accompany the team but it will only be for the one week training camp at the Australian Institute of Sports in Canberra. Weirdly enough, the two coaches will be back in camp once the Games actually begin to be replaced by assistant coaches who will be available for the players.
Furthermore, the coaching contingent during the actual tournament set to begin in April 4 will see High Performance Director Santiago Nieva and women's high performance manager Raffaele Bergamasco take charge of the team. According to a PTI report, this decision has predictably gone down badly with the rest of the support staff. But the executive director of the Boxing Federation of India, RK Sacheti, completely justified the decision saying that it was taken to comply with standards set by the Commonwealth Games Federation. According to him leaving out the Indian coaches was a tough call which had to be taken because the squad already comprises of0 21-members contingent which includes 12 boxers, five coaches, two physios and a video analyst.
Also read: Prime Minister to inaugurate Mary Kom's boxing academy
"According to the Commonwealth Games Federation rules, the support staff size cannot be more than one third the size of athletes contingent. The foreign coaches have to be there, so unfortunately someone had to miss out," Sacheti was quoted as saying. He went on to add, "However, I don't see it as much of an issue and there will be junior coaches who can be the communication link between the players and foreign coaches. Also, the Indian coaches will be there with the team for the entire training period. It is only that they will not be with them during the games." While how much of an effect this decision has on the boxers during the actual tournament remains to be seen, it is worth remembering that this decision is unprecedented and completely against the norm so far.
Next Story