Asian Games: Pak boxing coach not sure about medal chances

KARACHI: Pakistan boxing coach Arshad Hussain on Saturday said he was not sure about the country’s medal chances in the 18th Asian Games, slated to be held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, from August 18 to September 2.

“I am not quite sure about our medal chances as you know we did not get a camp in time. We had asked for the camp from May 5 but it was not given and now the time is very short,” Arshad told ‘The News’.

“Had the camp been held in time the things could have been improved. Now we will fight against time as you know Asian Games are tough. We did need lengthy preparation,” said Arshad, a former international.

He said that it was not difficult to improve the fitness level of the boys but the real issue was to get sparring partners for them.

“In Pakistan we don’t have good sparring partners for our top seeds. Normally we need a foreign tour for the purpose,” Arshad said.

When asked about a tour to Iran that the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) is supposedly trying to arrange, Arshad said that in Iran too there were no tough boxers. “A tour to Iran would help us to some extent but we needed a tour of a leading country of Asia. Iran’s boxing is also not of the top standard,” the coach said.

Arshad was Pakistan’s coach in the 21st Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia, in April this year.

National pugilists failed to live up to the billing in the 71-nation event.

For the Asian Games camp, as many as 25 male and eight female boxers have been called up. The camp will begin at the Pakistan Sports Complex, Islamabad, from June 20.

It is expected that Pakistan will field six male and three female boxers in the biennial competitions in Indonesia. The event will be contested in only seven weight categories for male as light heavyweight, heavyweight and super heavyweight are not in the plans of the organisers.

This will be the first time that Pakistani women will be featuring in Asian Games though some female fighters participated in the 2016 South Asian Games in India.

Rukhsana would be one of the selected fighters for Asian Games, a senior official of PBF said.

“Rukhsana from Punjab, who took bronze in India in the South Asian Games in 2016, will be among the three female boxers who will feature in Asian Games. She plays in 60kg. The other two have not been decided,” PBF secretary Nasir Tung told this correspondent.

He said that Iran’s tour would take place after July 15.

In the last Asian Games, held in Incheon, South Korea, in 2014, Mohammad Waseem claimed bronze medal in the flyweight category.

A few months after that event Waseem turned professional and these days he is preparing for the IBF world flyweight title bout which he will play against Moruti Mthalane of South Africa on July 15 in Kuala Lumpur.

The coaching staff for the camp includes highly experienced coach Ali Bakhsh, Tariq Gujjar, Mohammad Ramzan and Qamar Shaheen.

It is expected that an experienced lot will be picked for the Asiad. The last date for entry by name is June 10 (today).

Pakistan is set to feature in 28 disciplines in Asian Games. Pakistan will participate in eight more disciplines whose federations are not recognised by Pakistan Olympic Association (POA).

Pakistan’s strength in total and in each discipline will be decided at a meeting of the country’s sports stakeholders on June 13 in Lahore.