Visa issue: Pak boxers miss Chemistry Cup

KARACHI: Visa issue deprived Pakistani boxers of a golden opportunity to feature in the 2018 Chemistry Cup which will begin in Halle, Germany, from Thursday (today).

“Yes, we are out of the event as we have not yet received visas of Germany,” Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) secretary Col Nasir Tung told ‘The News’ on Wednesday.

Pakistan was to send three boxers, Majid (49kg), Suleman Baloch (64kg) and Naqeebullah (56kg), along with coach Arshad Hussain.“We had submitted visa applications in time along with the supporting letter which had been issued to us by the organisers,” Nasir said.

“It would have been a great opportunity for our boxers to get some experience ahead of the Asian Games,” Nasir said.The event, in which pugilists from around the world are set to compete, will end on June 23.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s boxing camp for the Asian Games began at the Pakistan Sports Complex, Islamabad, on Wednesday. The Asian Games are to be held from August 18 to September 2 in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang.

Nasir said that 25 leading male and ten female boxers had been invited to the camp which would be supervised by the country’s leading coaches Arshad Hussain and Ali Bakhsh.The Asian Games boxing event will be contested in the initial seven weights.

Pakistan will also field three women boxers in the quadrennial spectacle.Pakistani boxers are expected to tour Iran for training ahead of the Asiad. “We are still in talks with Iran’s boxing authorities. They have told us that they are busy in an event in Thailand and will inform us about the tour after some time,” Nasir said.In the last Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea, the now professional boxer Mohammad Waseem won a bronze medal for the country in the flyweight division.