Santiago Nieva targets early LA 2028 Olympic qualification for Indian boxers after a strong 2026 season and plans focused for the gamesScroll down to read the full story.
Published: October 7, 2026, 6:27 PM IST
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Nieva eyes early LA 2028 qualification
Santiago Nieva is already thinking about the next goal after the 2026 Asian GamesIndian women boxers won three medals, including two goldsNow, the aim is to get as many Olympic qualification spots as possible for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The first big chance will be the 2027 World Championships in Kazakhstan“The first qualifier will be in Kazakhstan, which is the World Championships, where ideally we get as many quotas there as possible,” Nieva told SAI Media.
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“Later on, there will be the Asian Olympic Qualifier and 2028 will have another two Olympic Qualifiers,” he added.
Indian women boxers had a great run at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, winning six medals, including five goldsThey then won three more medals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian GamesIt has been a very good year for coach Santiago Nieva and the Indian women boxers.
Now, Nieva’s main focus is the 2028 Los Angeles OlympicsHe wants as many Indian boxers as possible to qualify early so they get enough time to prepare for the Olympics.
“Ideally if we get to qualify next year early on, we get a good preparation time,” he continued.
“It will be a tough pathway and hopefully we can qualify as many boxers as possible so we can form a strong team for the Olympics,” he continued.
Santiago Nieva served as the High Performance Director of Indian Boxing from 2017 to 2021He returned to the Indian boxing setup in 2025 and took charge as the National Women’s Team Head CoachNieva believes the team’s strong results this year came from a full-year training plan, which included tough international events, training camps in India and regular practice with quality sparring partners.
The Indian women boxers have also worked hard at the Sports Authority of India National Centre of Excellence in Patiala while preparing for major eventsNieva highlighted the strong support system at the centre, where around 40 people work with the boxersThis includes nearly 20 coaches and around 20 support staff who help the team with different aspects of their preparation.
“We have a staff of 40 people working with the boxers, around 20 coaches and another additional 20 support staff,” he said.
“We have improvements in all areas, sports science, the boxing hall, the boxing equipment and so on,” he added.
