Pakistan to send five boxers to UK

Players to train with WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan.

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) has decided to send five pugilists to the United Kingdom to prepare for the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) World Championship 2011 that takes place in Azerbaijan. The event will be the qualifying tournament for the 2012 London Olympics.

According to the PBF Secretary Akram Khan, the federation has selected Mohammad Waseem, Nisar Khan, Aamir Khan, Zulqi Hasan and Hasan Mehmood to train with WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan and his younger brother Haroon.

The boxers will leave for UK on June 5 where they will train for 25 days with the British coaches.

Olympic medalist supports PBF’s efforts

While the PBF is trying to provide its boxers with the best facilities, Pakistan’s only Olympic medal winning boxer Syed Hussain Shah believes that this is the best chance for Pakistan since 1988 to bag another medal.

“I could only dream of such opportunities in my time,” Shah told The Express Tribune. “The Amir Khan Academy has made things so much easier. The road has been tough for me as a Pakistani boxer fighting in Russia, China and Kenya. This is a very good chance for Pakistan to qualify for the Olympics.”

Shah said that the country’s players are very spirited but they lack technique. Taking them to UK is the best thing the federation can do.

Shah, who has watched Wasim and Nasir play in the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Boxing Tournament last year, feels that they need world class training. “Boxing is a technical game – it’s more psychological than physical. I hope the training will give them more confidence.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2011.