Boxing: Quetta event underway despite withdrawals

Boxers forced to miss event due to security concerns.

KARACHI: Pakistan Navy’s Dawood Afridi moved into the final of the 49kg event at the 6th NBP All Pakistan Boxing tournament by thrashing Sindh’s Hameed Hussain 5-0 in Quetta yesterday.

In the other 49kg semi-final, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s (K-P) Essa Khan won as his opponent Railways’ Abdul Hussain was forced to retire during the fight.

Meanwhile, in the 69kg quarter-final, Balochistan Red’s Lal Shah pipped Sindh’s Adil Khan 3-2 while his teammate Arshadullah outclassed Sindh’s Mohammad Sarfraz in the first round. Navy’s Door Muhammad moved into semi-finals of 75kg after K-P’s Mohammad Abbas was forced to retire.

The event is being played in the absence of Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Army, Higher Education Commission (HEC), Punjab and Islamabad who have opted out due to security concerns. Star boxer Mohammad Wasim, who hails from Quetta, has been forced to miss local tournaments and remain at home due to the poor security condition in his city.

“I’ve not been able to take part in local tournaments because of the fear of being shot anytime,” Wasim told The Express Tribune before adding that sportsmen need training to remain fit but he has not been able to train as he spends the majority of his time at home.

Army and Wapda are two units who have been ruling the sport as majority of the top boxers of Pakistan are affiliated with them.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2012.