The Boxing Federation of India has asked for a three-month extension for its overseas coaches, whose contracts were due to expire this month, saying a review will be done after the Men’s and Women’s World Championships later this year.

Indian boxing has two foreign recruits in the men’s high performance director Santiago Nieva from Sweden and his women’s team counterpart Rafaelle Bergamasco from Italy. They both came aboard in 2017 and their contracts would expire after the Tokyo Olympics.

“We have asked for a three-month extension (from the Sports Authority of India) for both. The men’s world championship is scheduled for next month and the women’s world championship is scheduled for December, we want continuity,” Boxing Federation of India Secretary-General said. Hemanta Kalita at PTI.

The decision was made recently at the BFI Executive Committee meeting.

“Our Olympic performance review is still an ongoing process and we would make a decision on any further extensions after the two World Championships,” Kalita explained.

“It will take time. An extension will ensure that our preparations are not interrupted. There is very little time available,” he said.

Nine unprecedented Indian boxers, five men and four women, qualified for the Tokyo Games of which only Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) managed to get on the podium with a bronze medal.

Among the men, only Satish Kumar (+ 91kg) managed to reach the quarter-finals, while four others, including world number one Amit Panghal (52kg), lost in the early rounds.

The BFI president had supported both the boxers and the coaching staff, saying he couldn’t overlook the unprecedented results of the past four years which included two first-time medals at the Men’s World Championships and never-before-seen milestones in Asia and the Games. of the Commonwealth.

Both Nieva and Bergamasco have expressed a desire to continue.

47-year-old Nieva is a member of the coaching committee of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) and vice president of the coaching committee of the Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC).

Kalita also informed that after the men’s national championship on September 15, the BFI will conduct the women’s national event in the second week of October.

“The dates will be defined in a few days, but the window would be the second week of October. We plan to organize the tournament in Hisar in Haryana. The World Championships are scheduled for December, so that window is perfect for having the Nationals.” , he said.

Both the men’s and women’s National Championships could not take place last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The gold medal winners of the men’s national teams will qualify for the World Championships.