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The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and Sports Authority of India (SAI) have jointly announced the acceptance of the resignation of High Performance Director Bernard Dunne. Moving forward, the Indian boxers will receive training under the supervision of foreign coach Dmitriy Dmitruk.
The decision was made during the federation’s strategic planning meeting, chaired by the BFI President Ajay Singh and attended by Secretary General Hemanta Kumar Kalita, Treasurer Digvijay Singh, Vice President Rajesh Bhandari and Chairman of BFI’s Disciplinary & Dispute Commission DP Bhatt.
The BFI President emphasized the important role played by Dunne during his tenure with the Indian boxing team. He applauded the multiple milestones achieved by the boxers under his guidance.
“Bernard Dunne was an integral part of BFI’s set-up but unfortunately we have to mutually part ways. His resignation was accepted by the committee. During his tenure, the Indian boxers have achieved multiple milestones. We express our sincere gratitude for his dedication, hard work, and contributions and we wish him the best of luck for his future endeavors,” stated BFI President Ajay Singh in a press release.
Notably, Bernard Dunne resigned from his position following the poor show from the Indian boxers in the first World Qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics. All nine Indian boxers failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024.
Dimitry Dmitruk to guide the Indian boxers
Meanwhile, Dmitriy Dmitruk will continue to guide the country’s elite men’s and women’s boxers. Notably, he previously served as the High Performance Coach of the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA), where he guided its national junior and youth teams for 12 years.
Indian head coach CA Kuttappa, along with other esteemed coaches like L Devendro Singh, Torak Kharpran, Khimanand Belwal, DS Yadav, Pranamika Borah, Abhishek Sah, and Poonam Sharma, will continue to stay in their roles within the coaching structure.
Jai Singh Patil and Durga Prasad Gandhamalla will join this distinguished lineup to bring their expertise as the newest additions to the coaching team.
In 2022, the former Irish boxer Dunne was appointed as the High Performance Director of the Indian boxing team. It’s important to note that during his tenure, the Indian team achieved remarkable success, including four gold medals at the Women’s World Championships 2023, three bronze medals at the Men’s World Championships 2023, and five medals at the Asian Games 2023.
