Let's not be judgemental about losses, India's boxing coach

Newly-appointed men's boxing coach Santiago Nieva feels Indian pugilists are at par with the world's best in mental toughness and should not be judged too harshly at this stage as "some things must take time for better results".

The born-in-Argentina-but-raised-in Sweden coach joined the ongoing national camp in Patiala two weeks ago and has been familiarising himself with his new colleagues, wards and the base. He has replaced Cuba's Blas Iglesias Fernandes, who left in 2014.

Ask him about his first impressions and the changes he plans to bring in, Nieva says so far, he hasn't found anything that needs urgent overhauling.

"I am understanding the training culture in India, which I feel is not very different from elsewhere. It is traditional and Indian boxers at the senior level seem to have a very good base," the 41-year-old, who is a member of the International Boxing Association's (AIBA) elite coaches' commission, told

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)