Boxing Interim Committee bars personal coaches at national camps, pushes centralised training

Hans India

09-07-2025

New Delhi: In a move to strengthen centralised training and maintain consistency across the national boxing programme, the Interim Committee overseeing the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has reinforced its long-standing policy to disallow personal coaches and support staff at official national camps.
The directive is aimed at ensuring uniform preparation standards as Indian boxers gear up for major global events, such as the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool in September, followed by the World Boxing Cup Finals in New Delhi this November, and leading up to the Asian Games next year.
Drawing lessons from India's Paris 2024 Olympic campaign, the Boxing Interim Committee has reinforced the need for a centralised, high-accountability training system.
Introduced three months ago, this structured setup—requiring all national campers to train exclusively under federation-appointed coaches—has already begun to yield results.
Both male and female boxers have shown significant progress, with India securing six medals at the World Boxing Cup in Brazil and a record-breaking haul of 11 medals, including three gold medals in the women's categories, at the Astana edition earlier this year.
Underlining the strategic importance of a centralised training system, Col. (Retd.) Arun Malik, Executive Director, BFI and Member of the Interim Committee, said, 'The need for a unified, centrally governed training ecosystem is essential. By consolidating our coaching framework, we're able to maintain clear performance benchmarks, ensure real-time progress tracking, and implement timely course corrections where needed. T
"his process brings greater discipline, data-driven feedback, and long-term athlete development into focus. Our recent medal tally, including the landmark performance at the World Boxing Cup in Astana, Kazakhstan, reinforces that a centralised model delivers results. We are committed to strengthening this system to sustain and scale elite-level success.'
The national camps are currently being led by head coaches D.S. Yadav (men) and Dr. Chandralal (women), ensuring technical alignment across weight classes and competition formats.
The directive underscores a critical shift in Indian boxing, away from fragmented, individual-led preparations and toward a single, united system designed for global impact and excellence.
The need for such a system is felt because, many times, the players have shown inclination to follow the style, methods, and approach of the coach, which may not be aligned with those proposed by the national coach.