BFI appoints Santiago Nieva as Women's Team Head Coach ahead of LA Olympics

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Santiago Nieva, the Argentine-born Swedish coach renowned for elevating Indian men's boxing, rejoins the national setup as head coach for the women's team ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

His three-year contract, signed with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) at $12,000 monthly, double his prior salary-starts mid-December before the national championships on December 25.​

During his 2017-2022 stint as high-performance director, Nieva guided India to record Tokyo Olympics participation, Lovlina Borgohain's bronze, and Amit Panghal's 2019 World Championships silver plus world No. 1 ranking. Post-India, he led Australia's high-performance unit. Indian women shone in 2025 with four World Championships medals (two golds) and a 10-medal haul (seven golds) at the World Boxing Cup Finals in Greater Noida.​

Nieva replaces D Chandralal, who stays on staff, bringing over 20 years of elite experience to stars like Nikhat Zareen, Jaismine Lamboria, Lovlina Borgohain, and Parveen Hooda.

Speaking on the occasion, Nieva said, "Super excited to come back to India. I had five wonderful years here in my previous stint. I am very much looking forward to this next chapter, and hopefully, we can create something big together. I have had great success working with women boxers in the past. There is a huge potential within the Indian women's team, and in LA (Olympics 2028), we'll be aiming for something big and create history."

After India, Nieva led Boxing Australia's High Performance Unit as National Head Coach and Technical Lead. Previously, he developed Sweden's program as Head Coach and Sports Director, mentoring boxers through World Championships, continental events, Olympic qualifiers, and multi-sport Games.