CHENNAI: India women boxing contingent had left a sizeable imprint during the 2025 World Boxing Championships in Liverpool in September. As many as four pugilists had returned with medals, including two gold. National women’s boxing team head coach D Chandralal was one of the forces behind that performance. With their tails up, Chandralal and his wards are now set for a fresh challenge — the World Boxing Cup Finals, which is scheduled to begin from November 14 to 21 at Greater Noida.

Following the Olympic debacle, this season has been a big turnaround for the women. Chandralal, who has been at the helm during the said period, is not resting on the laurels and wants his boxers to bring their A-game during the upcoming meet. The experienced coach, who has trained former champs like MC Mary Kom and L Sarita Devi, has been taking a scientific approach in training in order to lift his wards.

“In the last three months, they (boxers) have already peaked twice — World Cup and World Championships. Now, they have to peak again. After that, they have to show their calibre in the national championships. It’s a multiple periodization, the training methodology should be properly focussed so that they can peak in the right championships. Already peaked athletes have had some transition, and now we are bringing them back to peak again. That needs lot of positive thinking, working hard scientifically. I’m sure they’ll be at their best once again in this upcoming competition,” Chandralal said.

Chandralal felt proper planning is a must in order to peak at the right time. “This is proper periodization, if you don’t plan yourself, they will never peak at the right time. That needs plenty of coaching experience. Proper teamwork is required, conditioning is a must, once they are already in peak, again they have to be brought down, transition has to come in. Then again, proper planning has to come. It’s a multiple periodization, you can say. Previously, an athlete might be peaking once or twice a year. Modern training systems are like that, you have to peak a minimum of five to six times. Every tournament is important.”

Lovlina not part of team

Nikhat Zareen (51kg), Jaismine Lamboria (57kg) and Meenakshi Hooda (48kg), who were the standout during the aforementioned Worlds, are some of the names who’ll be vying for glory. The Boxing Federation of India announced the squad for the championships on Tuesday. But one prominent name that’s missing from the list is Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain. “Lovlina has stepped down because she has nasal issues,” the coach said.

Lovlina might be absent but Jaismine would be hoping to maintain her winning touch. Not so long ago, Jaismine was surrounded by uncertainty and she clearly lacked that zest in her game. With Chandralal and other coaches’ help, the Haryana boxer has evolved to become a polished operator this year. “I had seen her in the last Asian Games, she had lost via RSC in the second round then. I had assessed her performance and she was never going for attacks, always counter-boxing. Now, she’s more attacking, she has improved her strength and her style is long-distance boxing with good work so more training has to be done to become more explosive,” the coach noted.

Two-time world champ Nikhat had a fairly quiet return to the international stage in Liverpool. Chandralal felt that was mainly due to inactivity and expects the Hyderabad boxer to step up in the upcoming event, which will feature all the top-ranked pugilists from around the world.

“Nikhat had a big layoff post Olympics. She came back before the Worlds but she had not done her homework. All senior boxers forget to do the conditioning part, ignoring the preparatory phase in the process. Now, they have realised that. That’s why I had said after the Worlds that previous credentials will never help you reach the podium now. There’s no substitute for hard work. Nikhat has been working very hard. We can expect a medal in this upcoming championships but the competition in her category is very tough.”

Another interesting narrative during the championship will be the return of Parveen Hooda, who was suspended just before the Paris Games due to whereabouts failure. Having joined the camp not so long ago, Chandralal felt the youngster has plenty of catching up to do.

“She has to gain her fitness fast. During this ban, they had not done anything on that front. If you’re away from the sport, you’re likely to build up fat, the conditioning part is important again. Now she’s back, she’s doing well.  She can do good one day, but it could be difficult to box for five days. They need more time to recover. If the boxer is trained, you can go tough, today, tomorrow…everyday you can box because you have done your homework.”

“This is one of the positives for Meenakshi and Jaismine. They have trained with us continuously for the last six months. They know the ins and outs of what we are looking for. Praveen has to gain that. Moreover, 60kg is the toughest Olympic weight category.”