Boxing indoor sport, pollution not serious concern for us: Nieva

New Delhi, November 13 

The weight of expectations is enormous on Mary Kom but grabbing a sixth gold medal at the World Championships won't be easy for the celebrated pugilist, says Indian boxing's High Performance Director Santiago Nieva. Unarguably the most decorated boxer from India, Mary will spearhead India's 10-member contingent in the World Championships, beginning Thursday.

“Everybody expects Mary to win a gold medal but it won't be easy. She has a strong competition to contend with; she needs to perform as nobody will give her the gold for free,” Nieva said ahead of the elite International Boxing Association event being held for being held for the first time in India.  

Poor air quality 

Delhi's air pollution has been hogging the limelight in the run-up to the tournament. Rio Olympics bronze medallist boxer Mira Potkonen expressed concern over the matter. “I come from a country (Finland) which has the cleanest air, so it (pollution) is a bit of an issue. But I like the warm weather of Delhi. I knew what to expect as I was here in last January for India Open Boxing,” said Mira.  “Pollution is a problem but I will have to adjust. I won't go for jogs and try to concentrate on indoor training.”  

Nieva, however, said the weather conditions shouldn't be too much of a problem for the participating nations as boxing is predominantly an indoor sport.   “Nobody wants to play in a city where you feel the difference in breathing but this is a major issue in all big cities of the world. We had that in Beijing Olympics,” he said.  “For us, it's not a major issue. I have spoken to boxers of other countries as well and as Mira said, we usually train indoors, we stay inside the hotel, so it's not that much of an issue.” — PTI