PBF to discuss World Championships strength soon

KARACHI: The think tanks of Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) plan to put their heads together in a few days in order to decide the strength of the boxing squad for the World Championships and discuss financial and camp-related matters.

“We will sit in a few days to decide how many boxers and in which weights we should send to the World Boxing Championships,” PBF secretary Col Nasir Tung told ‘The News’ on Thursday.

“The World Championships is very important event and we will definitely participate in it. We will also decide when the camp for the global event should be held,” Nasir said. The World Championships will be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from May 1-14.

“Pakistan’s boxing is in rebuilding phase and if we don’t feature in international events then nothing will be done. The big issue is financial as things have got very costly and you have to decide the matters very carefully,” Nasir said.

“Our plan, which is subject to review, is to feature at least in three weights in the World Championships but we will discuss in which weights we should go,” Nasir said. “The light flyweight will be there and I am sure about that as that boy (Zohaib Rasheed) has been doing well in international circuit. We will take input from the coach also. He has also done his homework and has shortlisted ten fighters during the National Boxing Championship held in Karachi recently,” Nasir said.

Nasir said that camp will be held in Lahore for the World Championships. “Definitely Lahore is our main choice where we will utilise the facilities at the WAPDA Sports Complex,” Nasir said. Nasir said after taking decisions the PBF also will have to seek sponsors as sending a four-member squad to Tashkent will need a big amount.

“Look, in the World Championships you need to get accommodation for a couple of weeks and per night charges per person are 120 Euros which shows that Rs2.2 million is only the accommodation cost if you want to send three boxers and a coach besides the air-ticket and camp expenses as we will also have to keep a few more boxers with them for sparring purposes,” Nasir said.

Nasir said that it’s a huge task to ensure fighters’ presence in international events these days without state assistance as expenses have doubled due to devaluation of Pakistani currency. The Asian Games camp is another matter which the PBF will have to discuss. Nasir said that it does not look like that they will hold camp for the Asian Games before the 34th National Games.

“I don’t think it will be possible to hold the camp for the Asian Games before the National Games,” Nasir said. “We will sit with our president and coach and then will decide what we should do as all these decisions will need deep consultation on our part,” Nasir said.

National Games are slated to be held in Quetta from May 15 to 23 while the 19th Asian Games will be hosted by China in Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8. Asian Games are very crucial as the event will also serve as qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics.