New Delhi, Dec. 5 -- Santiago Nieva is looking forward to spending Christmas with his family, but he will also feel at home when he arrives at the NIS, Patiala around the new year. Having quit his role with Boxing Australia, the Swede of Argentinian origin is gearing up for a second stint as the head coach of the Indian women's squad. Nieva's excitement at his return to India is understandable, considering the talent that he will guide. The women boxers have been on a roll this year, winning medals at the World Boxing Cup, World Championships, as well as the season-ending World Boxing Cup Finals where they won 10 medals, including seven gold. The man who was part of the Indian system from 2017 to 2022 knows that winning what he calls "big medals" is what will truly determine his legacy. His earlier stint saw the Indian men win two World Championships medals, including a silver by Amit Panghal that remains the best result for an Indian man at the Worlds. Nieva was also around when Lovlina Borgohain took a bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. "It's important to secure medals at the Olympics because that is what is missing. The Indian women have been doing great at the World Championships for many years. We now need to take that momentum to the (2026) Asian Games where there has not been a gold medal in a long time," he said. India didn't win a boxing medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics while the last Asian Games gold was won by Amit Panghal in 2018. "I want India to go beyond a solitary bronze at the Olympics because I can see some real potential there. I want the girls to express themselves at top world events. I have followed Indian boxing for years and know that there's a lot of talent." With the Los Angeles Olympics still three years away, Nieva's immediate focus is 2026 that will feature the Asian Championships, Asian Games and the Olympic qualifiers. In Nikhat Zareen, Lovlina and Jaismine Lamboria, India have good representation in Olympic weights while Minakshi Hooda and Nupur Sheoran have been top performers in the non-Olympic classes. Preeti Pawar, Parveen Hooda, Arundhati Chaudhary - all won gold at the World Boxing Cup Finals - are also on a comeback trail, adding depth to the Indian ranks. "It's very encouraging," Nieva, 50, said. "Jaismine and Nikhat are world class. There's Lovlina with all her experience. There's a lot going for India, particularly in women's boxing which excited me to take up this role in the first place. "Winning medals at the Olympics is the ultimate aim but we want to take it step by step. Next year is very crucial, and the first target will be to win gold medals at the Asian Games. With the kind of talent we have, we shouldn't be satisfied with bronze medals anymore." Many coaches say that Indian boxers, by and large, are technically proficient but lack the power to counter rivals from boxing strongholds such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Nieva disagrees. Seen as a top technician, he reckons that a combination of factors influence results. "To say Indian boxers are good technically but not as strong as the others physically is an excuse for losing. That's how coaches shy away from their responsibilities. The best boxers are also better technically, in general. It's not that they won because they are stronger only. You may have one or two wins despite not being technically stronger, but the vast majority of boxers win because they are better boxers. Everything else is an excuse. "So, it's not that our boxers are all good technically and they lose because the others were stronger or psychologically better. I don't buy that. Usually when we lose, we lose to a better boxer. Sometimes it can be a bad decision. Sometimes we can be a little unlucky with judging, but usually the better boxers prevail. We need to make sure we want our boxers to be better boxers." Nieva will also have to deal with a new approach at the national camp - the evaluation system that was introduced by Bernard Dunne who had succeeded him as HPD. The Irishman quit before the Paris Games after a string of poor results. "Trials are not the only way to pick teams, we need scientific assessments as well. It's premature for me to judge it at the moment but once I am in Patiala, I will have a discussion with players and coaches and figure out what's best," he said....