Pak boxing journeyin Amman qualifiers ends as Gul exits

KARACHI: Pakistan’s voyage in the Asia and Oceania Boxing Qualifiers for 2020 Tokyo Olympics ended on Friday on a disappointing note as the country’s third fighter Gul Zeb also exited in the welterweight preliminaries in Amman, Jordan.

Gul, who had got bye in the first round, went 0-5 down to China’s Maimaititu Ersun Qiong in the 69 kilogramme weight category.

Mehmood-ul-Hasan (75kg) and Mohammad Asif (52kg) had lost their first bouts in their respective weight categories. Pakistan fielded only three fighters in the continental qualifiers because of financial issues.

However, the country’s fighters still have a chance to qualify for Olmpics when they feature in the World Qualifying round to be held in Paris in early May.

Pakistan coach Arshad Hussain on Friday told ‘The News’ from Jordan that his boxers lacked international exposure. “Our fighters had good fitness but the big issue was that they lacked international exposure,” he said.

“Unless we give international exposure and foreign training tours to the fighters, it will be difficult to improve our performance at major events,” said Arshad, also a former Olympian.

He was quick to add that Asif and Gul Zeb had the capability to beat any fighter provided they were given solid training opportunities. “Look at India. They did not field their best boxers in the 13th South Asian Games in Nepal last year as they had sent their top boxers to Russia. And for the last six months Indian boxers were in Italy to train with the boxers of five to six nations of Europe before coming to Jordan,” he said.

To a query, he said better results could be expected in Paris if boxers began preparation for the World Qualifying round immediately on their return to the country. “No doubt Paris qualifiers will be even tougher but if we hold a camp without wasting time and manage a foreign tour for one month or so then I am hopeful both Asif and Gul Zeb could pull off surprises in Paris,” said Arshad, also an AIBA 3-star coach.

Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) wanted to field a full-fledged squad in Jordan qualifiers but decided otherwise as neither sponsors nor the government supported them.