Raffaele Bergamasco in a candid interview with SportsPreps.

by Sportspreps | Feb 04,2021

Rishabh Gupta: Please tell us about you and your family.

Raffaele Bergamasco: I have been married to my wife Marianeve since 1994 and we live in Assisi, I have two 25-year-old daughters; Francesca studying at the University of Perugia where she has already obtained a degree in biotechnology and is now finishing her master's degree in environmental biotechnology, Ida is of 23, she is based in Perugia and very busy in her service work.

Rishabh Gupta: You have been an amateur boxer yourself having played under light weight, welter and middle weight categories and now you have been coaching for sometime. How different your experience has been as a boxer and a coach?

Raffaele Bergamasco: I was quite good boxer, competing and winning in five different categories. The experiences are different, although all of them brought satisfactions. The difference between the two roles is that as a boxer you can express and unload your adrenaline in the ring, while as a coach you have to rejoice, suffer and always succumb alone. However, the ideal combination of coach and athlete is created when there is a lot of feeling that each of them share- they share the win, joys, glory and honour as they share the loss, failure and determination to come back.

Rishabh Gupta: When your typical day is like as a coach?

Raffaele Bergamasco: It depends on the competitions, however most of the time, my day as a coach starts very early, in the morning around 7 we have muscle awakening after which we have breakfast, around 10:30 there is the first training and then lunch. In the afternoon around 16:00 there is the second training then dinner. After dinner I dedicate myself to programming for the next day and so on…

Rishabh Gupta: During this lockdown, how your day had changed?

Raffaele Bergamasco: The days in this lockdown were almost similar, I always followed the news with a glance on our planet to the situations of the virus. Many days were spent by videoconferencing with the athletes, coaches, with the BFI, to update the strategic situation and ensue the boxers are not demotivated and the the boxers don’t have psychological drops. Then I trained, taking many walks and alternative activities, until I arrived in the evening to read or watch a good movie. And now that I am home, spending time with family is what takes most of my day other than online coaching.

Rishabh Gupta: Tells us now when Tokyo Olympics have been postponed to next year, what’s your team strategy now?

Raffaele Bergamasco: The technical strategy will not be distorted, we will continue to follow our methodology by exchanging with other nations, even if in a short time, participating in international competitions, focusing on the qualified boxers in Tokyo and on the new athletes for the upcoming Olympics in Paris in 2024. Though first and foremost, the focus on return will be to get the players to start with low intensity trainings so that there is no chances of injuries and players get accustomed after this long layoff.

Rishabh Gupta: Do you think sports will be affected by what people are calling a new normal? Bundesliga has started in Germany with no audience, do think the same thing happening anywhere else?

Raffaele Bergamasco: Unfortunately, and this is only my personal opinion, until a vaccine is found, nothing will be the same as before and this is also same in sport. Competitions go ahead both for those who participate in the race and for those who support it. Thinking about a big event, like the Olympics, without audiences, will be like imagining a Holi without colors. However, without the vaccine there will be a lot of fear. I think we all need to wait and watch and see how things pan out.

Rishabh Gupta: What is the first thing that you will do after the lockdown is over?

Raffaele Bergamasco: Without a doubt, come home to my family and spend some time with them, which I am lucky that I could manage. I believe, and I think like many others, that the family is the pillar of life in all senses. If this person cannot stand or support an individual's choices, then the individual will never be at his best.

Rishabh Gupta: Coming from Italy please share your views on how things are different for the game of Boxing in both the countries.

Raffaele Bergamasco: Italy is a very strong nation in sports, even in boxing, just think that it has won 48 Olympic medals and is in fourth place in the world ranking. The Italian women's team is one of the strongest in the world and I often talk to them to exchange technical advice. My opinion that the Indian team can reach and even surpass the Italian team in the boxing aspect, but our team must improve on the motivations of the characters which is a steady progress, I am sure that this will also happen as we are working very hard on this and many other important aspects.

Rishabh Gupta: You have been a boxing coach for a long time. How different it is to coach Men and Women boxers. How your experience has been during these years?

Raffaele Bergamasco: I started as a coach from 2001 to 2007 with the Italian women's team, then moved on to the men's one until the Rio Olympics. It was not difficult for me to go back to the beginning and confront the girls team, I was always myself, knowing that many of my gestures (like hugs after a verdict or massaging a girl, during a match) could be offensive for someone but that personal touch is something at times makes the difference. The experience gained over the years has helped me in my campaign in India and the journey has been fabulous since. I will continue to work with professionalism to achieve the maximum both personally and professionally, even if they often conflict with situations but as mentioned earlier, I work for goals and my goal is to get India as many Olympic medals.

Rishabh Gupta: What’s your goal after Tokyo Olympics?

Raffaele Bergamasco: My goal after Tokyo is to continue working with young athletes, to disseminate the work done to date throughout the country with other coaches, so as to mix the training methodology across the country, managing to speak only one sports language and help boxers in boxing growth

Rishabh Gupta: As a coach what do you look for in a player?

Raffaele Bergamasco: I am looking for athletes who are committed to my 100% training method, knowing that when he or she are working hard at his/her best, he/she is always 99% and he/she still lacks a bit to be the best. What I hope for the future is that the athletes go ahead for meritocracy and not for a competition held in the gym.

Rishabh Gupta: What is the most rewarding part of being a coach?

Raffaele Bergamasco: Definitely to see your athletes win, reaping the fruits of your work sown previously.

Rishabh Gupta: Whats the most memorable win you have been part of?

Raffaele Bergamasco: Each victory has its own story and each of them is special to me. But the five victories at the World Youth Women Championships in 2017 for India is very special.

Rishabh Gupta: Your most memorable loss you’ve been part of and what did you learn from it?

Raffaele Bergamasco: Perhaps the one that marked me most was the defeat in the finals at the London 2012 Olympics, with Roberto Cammarelle. Then there are many others that made me grow and improve technically and made me make fewer mistakes in my future as a coach.

Rishabh Gupta: Your favourite sports movie?

Raffaele Bergamasco: I don't have one in particular, but I often get excited when I see sports films in general, especially if it is true stories. In India there were some that moved me.

Rishabh Gupta: If not a boxing coach what would you have been?

Raffaele Bergamasco: I played soccer and I was also good, I was chosen by a team, in the youth ranks, who played in the Serie A in Italy, but I did not pursue inorder to follow boxing. I don’t know about other aspects professionally but personally I wish I could have worked more to become a good father.

Rishabh Gupta: SportsPreps is a sports engagement platform for schools. We encourage and scout talented school students to pursue sports as a profession. How sports startups like us can help?

Raffaele Bergamasco: Today if you are not in step with the times and you do not work with Apps and new ways, you are excluded from almost everything. However, these will help all the people but above all our young people to get in the spotlight or to be selected or excel.

Rishabh Gupta: How can schools play a part in development of boxing among students and especially girls?

Raffaele Bergamasco: Unfortunately, for some years now, school in Italy has lost the task of directing boys and girls to various sports. My opinion is that is needed to increase school hours for sporting activities, and each state or area should have its own sports centre where teachers or professors direct the best students to their sports specialties. India has huge talent and the grassroot programme is coming up well, I am hopeful of seeing some good results in the future.

Rishabh Gupta: What would be your advice to a school children who are good at boxing and want to pursue it as a profession? Would you like to share some words of encouragement?

Raffaele Bergamasco: I advise students to engage above all in the study, which will be important whatever their future will be. Anyway, if they like to train for boxing, to go to a gym and try to get in the ring, and over time to confront other boxers. Boxing is like a nice dress, if you like it and find your size, buy it immediately.