Pakistan to field only one boxer in Asian Championships

KARACHI: Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) has decided to field only one boxer in the Asian Boxing Championships because of financial issues. The event is scheduled in Bangkok from April 17-28.

“Yes, we have opted for a token participation and are going to field only Amir Masood,” PBF secretary Col (retd) Nasir Tung told 'The News' on Monday. “We wanted to field five or six boys in the event but we don’t have money and so cannot go with a solid squad,” Nasir said.

Amir, who won silver medal in the last National Championship in the 64 kilogramme weight category, is from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He was beaten by Army's Suleman Baloch in the final. The PBF decided to send Amir because Suleman has fitness issues.

Amir will be sponsored by the KP Boxing Association whose secretary Syed Kamal Khan will go as the manager. “Amir is a young boxer and will be making his international debut in Bangkok. He has grown over the years by fighting very well against the seasoned boxers. Giving him a chance will help us judge how he could be productive for the country in future,” Nasir said.

He said that they also asked Army and WAPDA if they could back their pugilists for the Asian Championships but they did not respond positively. “It gives us a lot of pain that we are sending only one fighter but we cannot help. When there is no state support it is always difficult to train boxers and field them in major events,” he said.

He added that they had requested the federal government for funding the PBF but it said that it was not possible. Amir is training with fighters from Pakistan Air Force (PAF) at Peshawar. “He has got good sparring partners in Peshawar and will prepare well. He is a former national youth champion and has won titles of various age-group competitions,” Nasir said.

Since taking part in the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia last year in August and September, national pugilists have been sitting idle due to no official camps and activities.

Pakistan is to appear in qualifiers for 2020 Olympics and the South Asian Games, slated to be held in Nepal from December 1-10. Nasir said that they had submitted the plan with the PSB regarding preparation for Olympics but had received no response.

After having won the PBF elections a couple of years ago the current set-up headed by Khalid Mehmood wanted to see at least some boxers in the next year’s Olympics but the financial position of the federation and the government's lack of interest in sports suggest the target could not be achieved.

The last time Pakistan boxers featured in Olympics was way back in 2004 Athens Games. Since then only one boxer has been able to reach the quarter-finals of the Asian Qualifying round. The Asian Boxing Championships will be held simultaneously for men and women for the first time since its inception in 1963 in Bangkok.

March 19 was the last date for registration in the event. The women’s Asian Championships has had seven editions so far. The last was held in Vietnam in 2017. The championships will be held in ten weight classes for both men and women. The competition will be held at the Huamark Indoor Stadium.