Women to be in action in National Boxing

ISLAMABAD: Women pugilists will be seen in action for the first time in a national event when they will vie in National Boxing Championship, slated to be held at Wapda Sports Complex Lahore from January 20-24.

“This will be the first-ever national boxing championship for female boxers,” Secretary Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF), M Nasir Ijaz Tung told APP on Thursday. He said the women boxers would compete in three weight categories 52kg, 60kg and 75kg. Nasir said that the women championship would take place on the sidelines of the 36th Men’s National Boxing Championship, also taking place at the same venue. “It will be an inter-provincial boxing event in which female pugilists from Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and FATA would partake. He said that the women championship would help promote women boxing in the country. He said that the PBF was following International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) agenda of gender equality.

“We are trying our best to bring female boxing to the fore ahead of 2020 Olympics,” he said. He said that in the 36th Men’s National Boxing Championship pugilists would compete in 10 various weight categories. “After the conclusion of national championships we would hold training camp in Islamabad for preparations for the future events, including Commonwealth Games and Asian Games,” he added.