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Bernard Dunne (right) with Kellie Harrington. James Crombie/INPHO

Bernard Dunne confirmed as India's new high-performance director

Kellie Harrington emerged as an Olympic champion under his guidance and expressed her disappointment at the IABA’s failure to hold onto the Dubliner.

LAST UPDATE | 17 Oct 2022

BERNARD DUNNE HAS been appointed as the high-performance director of Team India ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games.

The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) confirmed the news on social media this morning, declaring that the Dubliner will take “boxing to the next level” and they are “focused to win medals” in Paris in two years’ time.

Dunne, a former super bantamweight world champion, resigned from his role leading Ireland’s high-performance unit in May after five years at the helm with the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA).

Kellie Harrington emerged as an Olympic champion in Tokyo and also took a world title in 2018 under Dunne’s guidance. She responded to the news on social media, writing: “To say I am disappointed that we have lost him and we could not do our best to keep him is an understatement. Such a pity. But all the best to Bernard on this new journey.”

Aidan Walsh also took bronze at the 2020 Olympics while, most recently, Amy Broadhurst and Lisa O’Rourke took gold at the last World Championships.

“India has huge boxing talent and its boxers have been performing exceedingly well,” Dunne said in a statement.

“It will be a great opportunity for me to work with them and contribute to their success. I’m very excited to join the team and take the standards of Indian boxing to a new high altogether.

Boxing Federation of India’s President Ajay Singh added: “We are delighted to announce Bernard Dunne as the high-performance director of the Indian team.

“He was a legendary boxer and has also done exceptionally well while working with the Ireland team. As a federation, we are focussed on doing everything that is required for our boxers to bring glory to the country.

“This is a major boost to our aim of winning medals at the Paris Olympics. With the amount of experience and success he has under his belt, he is the perfect fit for this role.

“I’m sure Dunne will guide our boxers to the next level of performance. We welcome him and wish him the best luck.”

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