Ali, Niamat, Mohib enter National Boxing quarters

KARACHI: International boxers Ali Ahmed, Niamatullah and Mohib Bacha qualified for the quarter-finals in the National Boxing Championship which started here at the KPT Sports Complex on Wednesday.
Ali, a valiant fighter of WAPDA, got the better of Faheem Talib of FATA in the 60 kilogramme bout 3-0.
Ali, who is regarded as one of the most talented Pakistani boxers, missed the Asian Championship in Bangkok in August owing to officialdom politics.
The 2010 Dhaka South Asian Games gold medallist Niamatullah of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) knocked out Mohammad Arshad of Punjab in the second round of the 60kg bout.
The short-statured Mohib Bacha of WAPDA outgunned Mohammad Farooq of K-Electric 3-0.
Mohib, who was part of Pakistan’s squad in the Asian Championship in Bangkok, did not seem in solid form but still managed to win.
In 49kg bouts, Zafar Khan of Gilgit-Baltistan whacked Sobat Khan of Balochistan 3-0, Dawood Khan of Navy beat Haider Zaman of Punjab 3-0, while Ubaid Ali of PAF got the better of Arjun Butt of Railways 3-0.
In other 49kg fights, Shehroz Kachi of Higher Education Commission (HEC) defeated Khawar Qayyum of Islamabad 3-0, while Hasnain Irshad of Army downed Mian Uzair of FATA 3-0.
The last fight of the 49kg between Jehanzeb Khan of Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and Shoaib Murad of Sindh was an enthralling contest. Tall Shoaib gave tough fight to Jehanzeb before the latter managed a 3-0 triumph.
In the 52kg fights, Mohammad Farooq of Army defeated Faizan Mohammad of KPT, Saqib Ali of Punjab overcame Syed Asif of HEC, Muneer Ahmed of Balochistan overpowered Eidullah of FATA, Akbar Khan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Razzaq Hamdani of Islamabad and Sindh’s Badshah Khan prevailed over Mohammad Qavi of Railways.
In 56 kg bouts, international Abdul Waheed of PAF knocked out Talah Aslam of Punjab in the second round, while Nadir Baloch of Sindh knocked out Zubair Aslam of Railways.
In other 56kg bouts, Mohammad Rafiq of FATA beat Farhad Khan of Islamabad, Jaffar Hussain of Balochistan outgunned Shaharyar of KPT, while Naqibullah of WAPDA defeated Manaf of Gilgit-Baltistan. Gilgit-Baltistan’s Salman Khan won his 60kg fight against Niamat Khan of Islamabad, while Shahzeb of HEC defeated Sindh’s Kher Mohammad.
Director General Pakistan Rangers Sindh Maj Gen Bilal Akbar inaugurated the event.
He said that next month All-Pakistan Amir Khan Boxing tournament would be organised in Lyari. “We will invite all boxers from across the country,” Bilal added.
Water-tight security arrangements were made with Rangers deployed in and out of the complex.
As many as 120 bouts will be conducted with the ten finals to be staged on the last day. Gilgit-Baltistan made their debut in the slots in which 15 units are featuring. AIBA’s three-star coaches Ali Bakhsh and Arshad Hussain watched the bouts closely. “We will shortlist four boxers in each weight for the national camp,” Ali Bakhsh told ‘The News’.