Former boxer Khaliq pleads for financial support

KARACHI: The 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games silver medallist boxer Abdul Khaliq on Saturday said that he is in great financial crisis and the ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) should help him.

“I am in real financial trouble and need the support of the IPC and the PSB,” Khaliq told ‘The News’.

Khaliq, who had also claimed gold in the 1993 Dhaka South Asian Games, said that he has been serving as security guard at the Pakistan Steel, adding he has not got salary for the last few months.

“We got the salary of March on Eid-ul-Fitr and since then we have not been paid which has created huge problems for us. I have four children and I borrow money from others for survival,” Khaliq said.

“As the federal government has supported other boxers in the past, it should also back me during this difficult moment of my life,” he said.

He was the teammate of former boxing greats Hussain Shah, late Abrar Hussain and Asghar Ali Shah.

Khaliq said that after claiming silver in the Asian Games, former Pakistan president Farooq Leghari had given him Rs50,000.

“It was the only amount I had been given for my performances,” he said.

He said he has trained under foreign coaches and has learnt a lot from them, adding Pakistan should benefit from his services.

“I also offer my services to Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) as a coach. I am fit and know how to coach boxers,” he said.

Khaliq, who belongs to Karachi, had won gold in bantamweight in the 1991 Jakarta President’s Cup. He had also lifted silver in the 1991 international event in China. He remained national champion for 14 years from 1982 to 1996.

About Pakistan boxing’s current status, Khaliq said that the PBF needs to organise more events for the promotion of the game. “The game will not progress until the boys get more events,” he said.