Commonwealth Games: Pak boxers to be finalised by March 7

KARACHI: Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) plans to finalise a four-member squad for the Commonwealth Games in the first week of March.

“After a few days of tough practice we will finalise the four-member squad by March 6 or 7,” PBF secretary Col Nasir Tung told ‘The News’ on Friday.The national pugilists have been training at the Pakistan Sports Complex, Islamabad, under AIBA three-star coach Arshad Hussain for the last few days.

“As many as 16 boxers are in the camp and six will join them soon. When they have joined, after a week-long hard training we will decide who should be picked for the Commonwealth Games,” Nasir said.

The Commonwealth Games are slated to be held in Gold Coast, Australia, from April 4-15. The boxing competitions will be held from April 5 to 14 at the Oxenford Studios. Pakistan will feature in ten disciplines in the quadrennial competitions.

The four-member boxing squad will be accompanied by a coach and a manager.“We will also announce the names of coach and manager after we decide on the boxers,” said Nasir.

Arshad, a former international, is likely to be picked as coach. As per rules the squad must carry an AIBA three-star coach.Pakistan has only two AIBA three-star coaches. The other is former international Ali Bakhsh, who has not been kept in the camp being held for the Australia event.

Nasir also revealed that Pakistan would field six male and three women boxers in the Asian Games slated to be hosted by Indonesia in Palembang and Jakarta from August 18 to September 2.

This will be the first time that Pakistani women will feature in the Asian Games. Pakistan’s women boxers made their debut in the 2016 South Asian Games in India.Nasir also said that women’s boxing was included in the Fourth Inter-Provincial Games penciled in for March 18-20 at Peshawar.

“Three women weights, 51kg, 60kg and 75kg, have been added to the Inter-Provincial Games and three weights from the men’s section were reduced in the meeting held at Peshawar on Thursday,” Nasir disclosed.

Commonwealth Games will be a big test for national pugilists who have been struggling in international circuit for the last few years.In the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Pakistan’s now professional boxer Mohammad Waseem claimed a silver medal. Pakistan’s performance in the last year’s Islamic Games in Baku and Asian Championship in Tashkent was not impressive.