The recently concluded National Boxing Championship and All Pakistan Amir Khan Boxing tournament should be an eye opener for the Pakistan boxing authorities.

The boxers in the mainstream reached finals in their respective weight categories, but no one showed the killer instinct which is needed for grabbing a medal in international events.

The authorities have a tough task ahead of them in the Asian Qualifying round for Olympics to be held in March in China.

The China qualifiers are the last chance for Pakistan to return to Olympic fold in boxing.

Pakistan last featured in boxing in the 2004 Athens Olympics and since then our pugilists have been unable to find a place in the world’s most prestigious, missing the 2008 Beijing and the 2012 London Olympics.

Pakistan’s lone boxer Mehmood-ul-Hasan fell in the first round in the World Championships in Doha in October.

It does not mean that Pakistan currently does not have solid boxers who could blast their way into Rio Games.

There are a few fine boxers in the available pool but they need to be properly trained and groomed.

Most of the other nations featuring in the Asian qualifiers are busy imparting tough training to their boxers, sending them to other countries for the purpose. Pakistan does not seem to have arranged any such thing.

Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) has requested the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) to send its boxers to Cuba for three months training. But the PSB has stated it would not be able to do that.

The PBF then told the Board that it should at least send them for two months. The PSB has yet to respond to this latest request.

If the Board is not happy with the behaviour of any official of the PBF at least it should look at the future of Pakistan and its boxers.

For the preparation of 2012 London Olympics qualifiers, the PSB had given Rs20 million to the PBF. Pakistan failed to reach the Beijing Games but the boxers did make effort because of the standard training they had been provided. The now professional Mohammad Waseem narrowly missed the Olympic spot when he fell in the quarter-finals of the flyweight category in the qualifiers in Astana.

Sending boxers to Cuba for training is a good option as the standard of boxing in that country is amazing. Their three boxers won gold in the World championships in Doha, an astonishing achievement from the cash-starved country which is also exporting coaches across the world.

Pakistan has also hired the services of Cuba’s Comas who is expected to arrive soon to take charge of the boxing camp being held here at the PSB Coaching Centre.

The Cuban coach would be very helpful for our pugilists in their preparation ahead of the Asian qualifiers in which over 30 nations of the continent will be fielding their boxers who could not qualify through the World Championships, which served as qualifiers for Rio.

The PBF will also need to provide quality equipment to the boxers.

The PBF plans to field boxers in all the ten weight categories in the China qualifiers which is a good decision. Doing so will enhance Pakistan’s chances of earning Olympic berths.

Money is the major problem in the way of Pakistani athletes’ promotion. I have come to know that the PSB has not given a single penny of its annual budget to the PBF for the last four years which is around five million rupees. If the Board releases this amount it will help boxers to train for the qualifiers on foreign soil.

Besides playing in the qualifiers, Pakistan will also field boxers in seven weight categories in the South Asian Games in the Indian cities of Guwahati and Shillong from February 6-16. The event would help the boxers to get match practice ahead of the Asian qualifiers for Olympics.

In the SAG, all the three heavyweights have been excluded from the list of events. It will hurt Pakistan as we have a couple of stunning boxers in these categories.

It is also expected that Pakistan will field women in three weights in the South Asian Games for the first time.

In the end I would advise the PBF and the PSB to shun their differences and work together and help national boxers in their Olympic journey which is very important after Pakistan failed to qualify for hockey event for the first time in Olympic history.

Pakistan’s Japan-based judoka Shah Hussain also has a chance to qualify for Rio. He has to improve his world ranking by May 29, 2016.

If our boxers and Shah also failed to reach the Olympics, it would be an embarrassing situation for Pakistan as the country would then be represented by only those athletes who get wild cards.