"It's Nikhat Zareen's Time, Lovlina Borgohain Needs To Be More Proactive": Ex-India Boxing Coach Blas Iglesias Fernandez

Former Indian men's boxing coach Blas Iglesias Fernandez has backed world champion Nikhat Zareen (50kg) to bag a medal at this year's Paris Olympics but feels that Tokyo Games bronze-medallist Lovlina Borgohain's (75kg) chances will boil down to her level of aggression in the ring. The 68-year-old Cuban, who served for over two decades as the men's coach and also became the first and only overseas Dronacharya awardee, has been 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 multi-nation camp for junior boxers at the National Centre of Excellence in Rohtak, Fernandez evaluated India's chances at the upcoming Summer Games.

"I love the boxing (style) of Nikhat. She is very intelligent. She has good ring tactics. She knows when she is winning and when she is losing," Fernandez told SAI Media.

"This is Nikhat's time to prove herself. It's true that she had lived in the shadows of Mary Kom but now it's her chance to prove herself and make India proud," he said.

The Cuban was a part of the Indian men's coaching staff when Vijender Singh claimed the first Olympic medal in the country's boxing history back in the 2008 Beijing edition.

He also hit the headlines in 2014 for coping a disciplinary ban for losing his cool after L Sarita Devi's controversial semifinal loss in the Asian Games.

The veteran says he sees potential in Borgohain too but she has to come across more purposeful, especially when the chips are down in the ring.

"Lovlina has to show more killer instinct. I have seen some of her bouts and I think she lost them because Lovlina was not aggressive and proactive