Boxing: Over to youngsters now, says PBF

Poor results force officials to train young boxers.

KARACHI: After all its efforts put in the seniors backfired with poor results, the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) has decided to shift its focus on preparing a strong team for the upcoming AIBA Youth World Boxing Championship to be held later this year.

Failure to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics and a lack of good boxers forced the PBF to prepare ‘at least seven to eight’ players who can raise the standard of the sport in the future.

“The PBF wants to prepare these boxers to increase competition and make sure that you don’t just ‘walk’ into the team anymore,” PBF Secretary Akram Khan told The Express Tribune. “These players should be able to give each other a tough time when the squad is selected. We’re now paying more attention at the youth level — something that hasn’t been done in the past.

“We want to make sure that we get a batch of quality pugilists as currently there’s only Mohammad Wasim who is in the top bracket. The PBF also intends to hold competitions at the school and college level to promote the game.”

Meanwhile, the PBF secretary added that a national youth ranking event will be held in Islamabad in September to help shortlist players for the AIBA championship.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2012.