Santiago Nieva, Indian boxing's high performance director, said that while he was not present during the trials to witness the situation personally, the 36-year-old seven-time Worlds medallist Mary Kom's reputation and form is simply hard to ignore.
The Indian sporting fraternity is divided — although heavily against — on whether celebrated boxer Mary Kom has earned the right to book her Women's World Boxing Championships berth even without undergoing trials held earlier this week in New Delhi.
Out of the 10-member India squad for the prestigious tournament to be held in Russia in October, eight boxers sealed their spots by coming out winners in the trials of their respective weight categories. Only Mary Kom and Lovlina Borgohain were exempted by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), saying the two had won enough medals in the past for automatic selection. It left young Nikhat Zareen, a former junior world champion and the closest domestic competitor to Mary Kom in the 51kg category, fuming.
Santiago Nieva, Indian boxing's high performance director, said that while he was not present during the trials to witness the situation personally, the 36-year-old seven-time Worlds medallist Mary Kom's reputation and form is simply hard to ignore.
"You cannot just overlook Mary Kom's achievements," Nieva told DNA from Patiala.
"Last year, she became a six-time world champion, of course in a different weight category (48kg). But even this year, she moved back to 51kg, and it's not like she has not boxed here before.
"She is unbeaten this year: she won in Germany, she won the India Open, she won the recent President's Cup. And she beat her tougher competitor in Nikhat in India Open (in the semifinals). Of course, Nikhat has fought in tougher competitions, and that also with some good results," he added.
The Swedish three-star coach, however, was quick to add that in such tricky scenarios, each boxer should have clarity of information beforehand.
Nikhat had accused the BFI of keeping her in the dark till the last moment, saying she was informed about the cancellation of the trials just before the bout was scheduled to take place.
"There should not be any confusion about these things. It's important that we state clearly what is expected and required from the boxers so that they know what chances they have. It's imperative that they get proper clarity, directions and information on time," Nieva said.
"Even when you're very clear and you know everything and you're spoken to, still people get disappointed when they're not selected. So, imagine when things are not clear from the beginning and nothing can be changed about the previous decision," he added.
Asked if he had a word with Nikhat after the episode, Nieva, who is a senior member of the AIBA international federation coaches commission, said: "No, I haven't spoken with her. I have left it to the people who are there (New Delhi) to take care of this situation because I don't want to create any confusion."
Someone who didn't seek any favours and decided to book her Worlds ticket on merit was Sarita Devi, who is a year older to Mary Kom at 37.
The Manipur boxer, a three-time world championships medallist, beat the in-form and fancied Simranjit Kaur in the 60kg trials. Mind you, Simranjit had just won gold at the President's Cup last month and is a 2018 World Championships bronze medal winner.
"That was really impressive from Sarita, who has been around for so long and has tremendous experience," Nieva said.
"It's really nice to see her motivated and continuing to show her form, especially beating a quality boxer like Simranjeet. It's nothing less than incredible. She had a great world championships last year, she was a little bit unlucky that time, but hopefully she can get revenge. She's a top medal contender," he added.
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 "Santiago Nieva with Mary Kom")
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