New Delhi: Dronacharya awardee C.A. Kuttappa has returned as the head coach of the Indian men’s boxing team for a second stint, a decision made by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI).

Kuttappa is a resident of Gokulam in city. Hailing from Chenanda family, Kuttappa has been coaching Indian men’s boxing team since May 2009.

He has replaced Army Sports Institute’s Narender Rana, who was appointed as the chief coach in Oct. 2021. “The Federation had an internal meeting and the decision was taken on the advice of the new High-Performance Director. He wanted Kuttappa in the team,” BFI Secretary-General Hemanta Kalita said yesterday.

“The new High-Performance Director is making his team and there is no permanent position for head coach,” he added. Incidentally, it was Rana who had taken over from Kuttappa after BFI had made wholesale changes in the staff following poor show at Tokyo Olympics, where none of the male pugilists won a medal.

However, Kuttappa continued to remain as the coaching staff. With important tournaments such as Men’s World Championships, Asian Games and Olympics lined up in the next two years, BFI hopes Kuttappa will stay on as the head coach till Paris 2024.

“We want him to stay till the Olympics but his position will be on a performance basis,” Kalita said. He is currently overseeing the national camp in Patiala, which includes the likes of Shiva Thapa and Commonwealth Games medallist Md Hussamuddin, Rohit Tokas, and Sagar.

During Kuttappa’s first stint as head coach from 2018-2021, Amit Panghal won a historic silver medal at the world championships.

The Services coach has been a part of the support staff during some major milestones in Indian boxing, including the 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze by Vijender Singh.