National boxing academy

Blas Iglesias Fernandez: Long-serving boxing coach Blas Iglesias Fernandez has backed Nikhat Zareen to return with a medal from the upcoming Paris Olympics. The 68-year-old Cuban, who changed the face of Indian boxing since arriving in India for the first time in 1990, feels Lovlina Borgohain can win too but “only if she shows killer instinct.”

Fernandez, the only overseas coach to have ever won a Dronacharya award, is back in India after being appointed by the Sports Authority of India as High Performance Coach for a two-year period. Fernandez is stationed at the National Boxing Academy in Rohtak, Haryana.

Speaking recently on the sidelines of the multination camp for junior boxers at the SAI’s National Centre of Excellence in Rohtak, Fernandez evaluated India’s chances at the upcoming Summer Games.