Arshad praises boxers’ fitness ahead of Olympic Qualifiers

LAHORE: Pakistan’s boxing coach and former Olympian Arshad Hussain has said that national boxers have achieved top fitness during the camp which is in operation here at the Railways Sports Complex in connection with the preparations for the Paris Olympics qualifiers.

“Yes the boxers have achieved top fitness and now we are working on skills and speed,” Arshad told The News here on Saturday.

National fighters are set to feature in a couple of world qualification tournaments for the Paris Olympics.

The first world qualifying event will be hosted by Italy in Busto Arsizio from February 29 to March 12 while the second qualifying event will be conducted by Bangkok from May 23 to June 3.

The last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games were also a qualifying round for this year’s Paris Games but no national fighter advanced beyond the quarter-finals stage.

“Hectic training is in progress. Today there was good sunshine and we also conducted a marathon sparring session in the ring,” Arshad said. Arshad has been a highly experienced coach and has been associated with the Pakistan team for the last several years.

“Skills training is a process and it never ends,” Arshad said, adding he is quite optimistic that a better pool will be prepared for the most vital assignments. Arshad also revealed that Sanaullah and Mohammad Qasim are not part of the camp as both are sick.

“We have currently eight male and six female fighters in the camp. We plan to leave for Italy on February 25. We have already applied for visas,” Arshad said.

However, he said that the final lot would be announced a couple of weeks before departure for Italy.

“A selection committee will decide the final squad,” said Arshad, who also has to his credit a handful of international medals during his fine career.

Arshad said the country’s premier boxer Zohaib Rasheed is in top shape, adding he is the sort of boxer who does not get tired and it’s a big plus.

“He is in top shape and trains more than others. It will not be wrong to say that his fitness is like the Asian Games where he did well by reaching the quarter-finals,” Arshad said.

Arshad feels that a foreign tour is a big miss.

“Yes, we will not be able to go for foreign training due to no support from any cordon. You know we don’t have money and are seeking sponsors,” Arshad said.

Zohaib Rasheed, Mohammad Faheem, Ibrahim, Zeeshan, Azhar, Kamran, Fatima Zehra, and Areeba are some of the prominent boxers undergoing training.

Arshad revealed that coach Tariq Sidduqui, who had fallen ill a few days ago, is yet to return to the camp.