India’s foreign boxing coach Bergamasco seeks clarity over fresh contract

India women’s boxing high performance director Rafaelle Bergamasco, who coached Lovlina Borgohain to bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, has sought more clarity on his tenure after the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) recommended only a three-month contract extension.

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Italian Bergamasco’s contract ends this month. The BFI during its recent executive committee meeting decided to give an extension to both foreign coaches—Santiago Nieva is the high performance director of the men’s team—for three months and review their performance after the world championships. The men’s tournament will be held from Oct 26 to Nov 6 in Belgrade, Serbia. The date and venue of the women's worlds is yet to be announced.

“I would like to have more clarity on my contract as early as possible. I will speak to BFI president (Ajay Singh) on the issue,” Bergamasco said when contacted. “The planning and preparation for the next Olympics (2024 Paris) should begin immediately because we do not have much time,” he said.

The current Olympic cycle will be a tricky one for the boxers and coaches as they will get less than three years to prepare. The thinking within BFI is that a thorough review of the coaching staff needs to be done. With nine boxers (5 men, 4 women) qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, BFI had hoped for at least two medals but managed only one.

“We have not been lacking as far as resources are concerned. The government has spent huge money to prepare the boxers, send teams abroad even during the pandemic and provide them with the best of facilities. So, we were hoping to win more than one medal. We need to review everything, where we lacked and what is the way forward,” said a BFI official.

BFI wants to hold the men’s and women’s nationals before the worlds. The men’s nationals will be held this week at the Inspire Institute of Sport in Bellary, Karnataka. The women’s competition will be held in October. “The foreign coaches have not given their consent yet for a three-month extension of contract. We will speak to them during the senior nationals,” said the BFI official.

Bergamasco, who had coached Italy’s elite men’s and women’s teams, took over the Indian women’s team in 2017. Under him, the women boxers enjoyed lot of success in major world events, winning four medals at the world championships. A record four women—out of five weight categories—made the cut for Tokyo Olympics from the Asian qualifiers, with Borgohain the lone medallist.

Both Bergamasco and Nieva introduced major changes in training—tactics, strength and endurance.

“Rafaelle's training methods were completely different to what we were doing before,” said Pooja Rani. “The training was in short bursts and more intense. It benefitted us,” said Rani, who lost in the 75kg quarterfinals in Tokyo to former world champion Li Qian of China.

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