India’s newly-appointed men’s boxing head coach Narender Rana would like his wards to take a step back inside the ring, improve their self-belief and preferably stay off social media during competitions as he spelled out his vision on how to take the sport forward after an insipid Olympic campaign.
The 49-year-old, who returned to the country on Monday after his maiden outing as head coach during the world championships in Belgrade, revealed that he took away bronze-winner Akash Kumar’s (54kg) phone to keep him focussed ahead of the semifinals. Akash was India’s lone medal winner at the event.
“I took his phone away after quarterfinals because he was bombarded with calls and messages,” Rana said.