British boxer Amir Khan to attend closing ceremony: Punjab Open Boxing Championship begins today

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Sports Jahangir Khanzada said Sports Board Punjab is going to hold its first ever Inter-Division Punjab Open Boxing Championship at Nishtar Park Sports Complex Gymnasium Hall from May 12 to 15, 2018. “Famous British boxer Amir Khan will also participate in the closing ceremony which will definitely be a great source of encouragement for young pugilists,” he shared this information while addressing a press conference at National Hockey Stadium on Friday.

Director Sports Anees Sheikh, Director Admin Javed Chohan, Deputy Director Hafeez Bhatti, Abdul Rauf and Punjab Boxing Association official (PBA)s were also present during the largely-attended press conference.

Punjab Minister for Sports Jahangir Khanzada said the Inter-Division Punjab Open Boxing Championship will explode into action with a colourful opening ceremony at 3.00pm on May 12 at Nishtar Park Sports Complex Gymnasium Hall.

“Sports Board Punjab has provided best platform to potential boxers of Punjab to show their talent at the grand championship which is going to be held under the slogan of ‘Kaun banay ga Punjab ka boxing champion”.

Khanzada informed that 770 boxers including 100 women from across the province to took part in grand trials activity. “The large number of boxers from all parts of province took part in the trials activity in three classes - Elite Class (Boys), Youth Class (U-16 Boys) and Elite Class (Girls). And it happened for the first time in the history of Pakistan that young boxers from remote areas of the province featured in boxing trials”.

Khanzada further said that 177 male and 22 female boxers have been shortlisted for the Inter-Division Punjab Open Boxing Championship. “The shortlisted pugilists have been selected through a transparent selection process,” he asserted.

He said after grand trials process across the province, now we have complete data of all male and female boxers and their categories. “Now we can make better planning for our future boxing events and ultimately it will help us carving out excellent results,” he maintained.

Elaborating about the prizes, Khanzada aid: “Punjab govt is going to award huge cash prizes to winners and prominent performers of boxing championship. Overall Rs 26 lakh will be spent on the championship. The winner, runners up and third position holder will pocket Rs 50000, Rs 25000 and Rs 12000 respectively”.

Khanzada said there is no dearth of boxing talent in the province. “Punjab govt has decided to establish modern boxing rings at nine divisional headquarters to hone boxing talent in all parts of province. Boxing rings will also be established at district level in the next phase,” he revealed.

Khanzada told that Punjab govt, under the vision of Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, is taking best possible measures for the promotion of sports in all parts of the province. “As many as 22 sports gymnasiums and 18 E-Libraries have been completed in different cities of the province. Moreover, seven cricket grounds, six hockey grounds with top class turfs and lights, State of the Art Punjab International Swimming Complex, international level tennis stadium have also been completed”.

Khanzada said eleven cricket academies under the supervision of legend cricketer Zaheer Abbas have also been functional in various cities. “Qualified coaches are imparting modern training to young cricketers at these academies. Similarly, Punjab govt also made sufficient measures for the promotion of squash, tennis, football and other games throughout the province,” he explained.