Boxing Federation of India accepts high-performance director Bernard Dunne’s resignation

New Delhi [India]: The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) on Monday said it has accepted the resignation of high-performance director Bernard Dunne and the Indian team will continue to train under the guidance of foreign coach Dmitrij Dmitruk.

The decision was taken during the federation’s way-forward meeting, which was 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 and dispute commission DP Bhatt, a BFI press release said.

“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 best of luck for his future endeavours,” BFI President Ajay Singh said, according to the release.

dunne, a 44-year-old former Irish boxer, took over as high-performance director of Indian boxing in 2022. The Indian team won several international medals under his tenure, including four gold medals at the 2023 Women’s World Championships, three bronze at the 2023 Men’s World Championships and five medals at the 2022 Asian Games.

Head coach CA Kuttappa and other coaches including L Devendro Singh, Torak Kharpran, Khimanand Belwal, DS Yadav, Pranamika Borah, Abhishek Sah and Poonam Sharma will continue to be part of the coaching structure. Jai Singh Patil and Durga Prasad Gandhamalla will be the new additions to the coaches’ list.