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Coach Fernandez rues lack of exposure before CWG.

Interviews

Take any sport in the country and you can see the role of foreign hands in shaping the fortunes of the national team. But at a time when most trainers, lured by the Rupee, arrive and depart in a matter of months or at best few years, a Cuban has served Indian boxing with distinction through the last two decades.

Meet Blas Iglesias Fernandez, the man with a Midas touch from Santa Clara near Havana, who has presided over the metamorphosis of Indian pugilists from being easy pushovers to strong medal contenders in major meets, including Olympics. "When I started back in 1990, no one among the Indian boxers had any kind of technique but there was enough talent in the country and all I had to do was to nurture it in the right away," Fernandez told TOI in an exclusive interview. Excerpts:

CHAMPION STUFF

The unassuming 55-year-old Cuban who is getting more and more passionate about his Indian job is excited about the new crop of talent that India has produced over the last decade. "We are now one of the best teams in the world. In the Beijing Olympics, Vijender (Singh) won a bronze but others like Akhil (Kumar) and Jitender (Kumar) also could have emerged on the podium. We never thought that Akhil will lose in the quarters," he said.

"The youngsters are also coming up well and proof of that came in the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore as India picked up a silver and bronze through Shiv Thapa and Vikas Krishnan."

EARLY DAYS

Recalling his early days here, the Cuban said that it was at the insistence of the Cuban Boxing Federation that he took up the job of promoting the sports in India. "My first stint lasted four years. I came back in 1997 for another three-year term. The third stint began in 2004 till the Beijing Olympics and I renewed my assignment last August," said Fernandez who was Cuban champion in the 51kg category in 1974.

"It was difficult to survive in the highly competitive world of Cuban boxing and I moved to coaching in 1976. In two years, I was the national coach. The squad then included top boxers like Joespho Gomez, Teofilo Stevenson and Roberto Balado, the last two being super heavyweights, who went on to become worldbeaters.

When he recalled his students in India, the first name that came to the coach's lips was that of Gurcharan Singh, the light heavy boxer who narrowly missed a medal in the Sydney Games. Fernandez's list also includes Dingko Singh, Devarajan and Zoramthanga.

READY FOR CWG

The Cuban is confident that Indian boxers will put up a good show in the Delhi Games. "I expect 2-3 gold medals though we will face strong challenge from boxers in African countries, England and Australia."

The coach's only worry is the lack of international exposure. "I am happy with our preparation but they lack in terms of competition. Preparatory meets are very important but unfortunately we couldn't find many competitions to provide our boxers with some international exposure," he said.

BRIGHT FUTURE

Fernandez feels that the efforts put in by the Indian Boxing Federation have paid dividends and the country has a bright future. "Systematic training was the key to India's success. The pyramid system is working well and we have enough boxers coming up the ranks. If the Federation continues to work like this then we will emerge much stronger."

14 de septiembre de 2010
(Cubaminrex-Embacuba India- The Times of India)

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