Mohibullah leaves for World Boxing Championship

LAHORE: Pakistan boxer Mohibullah Jani and coach Arshad Hussain on Friday flew out of Islamabad for Tashkent to feature in the IBA Men’s World Boxing Championships which will be held in the Uzbekistan capital from April 30 to May 14.

“Yes we have sent today Mohibullah Jani (63kg) and coach Arshad Hussain to Tashkent. They are on the way. I have sent messages to Arshad Hussain and he will let me know about their whereabouts,” Pakistan Boxing Federation’s (PBF) Secretary General Col (retd) Nasir Tung told ‘The News’ from Quetta.

Mohibullah belongs to WAPDA and lost the final to Ibrahim of Army via a split decision in the National Championship held in March at the KPT Sports Complex Karachi.

The Quetta-born Mohibullah won the title in the 2022 National Boxing Championship in Quetta. “It will be his first international exposure. He is a fine product; we were monitoring his growth and he has been eventually given the chance in a big event which will help him learn,” Nasir said.

“In this tough economic situation it is not easy to send boxers to international events. You know Rs1 million is the air-fare besides the boarding charges which is 120 Euro per night. Thanks God we have been able to confirm the tour which was direly needed to keep the flow of fielding our fighters in international meets,” Nasir said.

The Asian Boxing Championships and the Asian Under-22 Boxing Championships bronze medallist Zohaib Rasheed was also expected to represent Pakistan in the global event but he was not sent due to NOC issue.

“He (Zohaib) belongs to Navy and his NOC was a big problem and we did not have enough time and so decided against sending him,” Nasir said.

Nasir said they were trying to gradually provide international exposure to emerging boxers in order to prepare a fighting lot for the future. “Pakistan has been struggling in boxing for many years. In recent years, we have increased the number of events to unearth new talent. Muhibullah is a find of this process,” Nasir said.The event will officially begin from April 30 with the finals to be conducted on May 13 and 14. More than 640 boxers are set to show their mettle.