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| PBF plans to move boxing event to January |
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Wednesday, September 16, 2009
By Alam Zeb Safi
KARACHI: Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) plans to move the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto International Boxing tournament from October to January due to packed international calendar.
"Previously we had planned to hold the tournament in October but after AIBA President's instructions and the busy international commitments we are now considering an option to move it to January, in order to ensure maximum participation of the countries across the world," the secretary of the PBF Muhammad Akram Khan told 'The News' on Tuesday in an interview here after his return from Italy along with the team which took part in the World Boxing Championship in Milan, Italy.
"In October-November Hungary is hosting the Kings Cup while in December AIBA President's Cup is being planned in Baku, Azerbaijan. The AIBA chief Ching-Kuo Wu also advised us to move the tournament to January and we now plan to apprise the government that we are going to move the tournament from October to January," the PBF secretary said.
He also disclosed that the tournament which was earlier planned to be held here in Karachi may be shifted to the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad where good security arrangements could be made.
He said that after Eid a meeting of the organising committee is being convened to start working for the cause.
"During the World Championship in Italy we met the top brass of several countries and they are all agreed to feature in the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed International Boxing tournament," he said.
He said that the PBF also plans to hold a month-long joint training camp of the participating nations in Islamabad before or after the tournament as the idea has been endorsed by several countries as majority of them want to move to India from here to feature in the Commonwealth Boxing Championship to be held there in March.
To a question Akram said that the meeting of the Pakistani delegation with the AIBA President in Milan on the sideline of the World Boxing Championships helped restore the lost image of the country.
"We told AIBA chief that former PBF and AIBA President Professor Anwar Chaudhry is no more attached with the Pakistan boxing and we are elected representatives of the PBF and are committed to work with the world body in cordial atmosphere," Akram said.
To another query the PBF secretary said that the PBF is going to inform AIBA, in written form, that the current set up of the Pakistan Boxing Federation has not received the boxing equipment which the world body had given to the previous set up last year.
About the performance of the Pakistani boxers in the World Championship in Milan Akram said that though the boxers faced great problems due to changed style of the game but overall he is satisfied, saying, the PBF plans to discuss this changed boxing style and the future of the Pakistani boxers with the coming Cuban coach Francisco Roldan after he will join his duty.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
