Federation hunts talent for international events

HEC boxers stand out in national camp in heavyweight categories.

KARACHI: Boxers from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) have emerged as Pakistan’s next potential crop of talent after making an impact at the national boxing camp, which is underway in Karachi.

According to camp commander Ali Akber Shah Qadri, they have found a number of heavyweight pugilists to compete in international assignments for Pakistan.

Qadri, who has been an international referee for Pakistan in numerous events abroad, said that the current camp has a mix of 36 departmental and provincial boxers. However, it is the participants from the universities who have filled the gap in the heavyweight category.

“We had a dearth of good boxers in the heavyweight and super heavyweight categories,” Qadri told The Express Tribune.

“For a long time now we have been unable to obtain a significant athlete who showed the potential of competing in the top categories for Pakistan, but now things are going to change. We have found new boxers from universities and have at least two players vying for each weight category.”

The camp commander further stated that at least five top boxers were picked from the Sindh Inter-Universities tournament that took place in Jamshoro in collaboration with the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) earlier this month.

“This is the first time in Pakistan that the HEC boxers have made it to the national camp. They have the drive and talent, especially Abdul Wahid Kakar, who is just 20-year-old, and Muhammad Imran. They are tall and strong.

“They can’t win international competitions right away, but our coaches are working with them. This new crop can serve Pakistan for the next 10 years.”

He added that the national camp is encouraging the boxers to be more competitive and that the two coaches, Ghulam Hussain Patni and Sajid Raja, are holding two bout sessions every week.

“We want our boxers to experience a competitive environment. We hold two bout sessions other than the training and sparring sessions every day. We are looking to prepare these athletes for the Commonwealth Games in July and Asian Games in September.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2014.

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