India eyeing at least 3 medals from women's WC boxing, says High Performance Director Nieva

Indian boxing's High Performance Director Santiago Nieva expects at least three medals from the upcoming Women's World Championships here and anything more than that according to him will be a "bonus".

Argentina-born Swede Nieva said his expectation also includes a gold and anything less than that will be a below-par result for the hosts.

"I expect at least three medals, including a gold. We will not be satisfied if we can't achieve that. Everything more than 3 medals will be a bonus and great result for us," Nieva said ahead of the elite International Boxing Association (AIBA) event which will be held here for the first time from November 15 to 24.

Five-time world champion and London Olympics bronze medallist MC Mary Kom will spearhead India's 10-member contingent in the World Championships and there is immense pressure on the celebrated Manipuri boxer to add to her tally here.

But Nieva said it won't be easy for Mary Kom to pocket her sixth World Championships gold here, al though she remains India' best bet.

"Everybody expects Mary Kom to win a gold medal but it won't be easy. She has strong competition, she needs to perform as nobody will give her the gold free.

"Everybody knows her. She has some pressure but she has done this before and we are confident she can do it again," he said.

Besides Mary Kom, Nieva expects good performances from some young Indian boxers in the tournament.

"Lovelina (Borgohain, 69kg), Manisha (54kg) looked pretty impressive in training sessions but a competition bout is totally different. It is their first World Championship and they are relatively inexperience but they are good boxers," he said.

Delhi's deteriorating air pollution has been hogging the limelight in the run-up to the tournament and Olympic bronze medallist boxer Mira Potkonen expressed concern over the matter, especially hailing from a pollution-free country like Finland.

"I came from a country 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 the India Open Boxing," Finland's Potkonen said.

"Pollution is a problem but I will have to adjust to that. I won't go for jogs and try to concentrate on indoor training."