Lar O Bar Pakhtun Boxing Tournament: Pakistan secure five belts, Afghanistan four

36 pugilists compete in nine weight categories

PESHAWAR: The third Lar O Bar Pakhtun Boxing Tournament, which concluded late on Monday at the Peshawar Sports Complex, saw Pakistan secure five belts after competing in nine weight categories, while their opponents from Afghanistan ended the two-day event with four.

Featuring a total of 36 pugilists from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Fata and various provinces of Afghanistan, the players were divided in four teams of nine each: Pakistan Green, Pakistan White, Afghanistan Green and Afghanistan White.

The first weight category — the 49kg event — saw Saleem Minakhel being declared as the winner in the final round.

“I won my first ever international event; I competed against boxers from another country for the very first time,” said an ecstatic Minakhel, adding that these events could only strengthen ties between the countries and that mutual sports activities would be beneficial to both in terms of exposure and reduced costs.

In the 52kg category, Esa Khan bagged the belt for Pakistan White.

An all-Afghan final in the 56kg competition saw Haroon secure the title for Afghan White, while Pakistan Greens’ Faheem Talib and Aamir Masood triumphed in the 60kg and 64kg categories respectively.

Afghan Green’s Yaseenullah won the 69kg competition while Pakistan Green’s Muhammad Rustam triumphed in the 75kg event.

Pakistan White’s Hilal and Afghan White’s Asaladin Kochay won the 81 and 91kg competitions respectively.

Another Afghan boxer Iftikhar Safi said that Pakistan has a good environment for boxing, and he learnt a number of new things while fighting against his Pakistani opponent during the Lar o Bar Pakhtun Boxing tournament. Safi won 64kg category belt during the event.

According to K-P Boxing Association Secretary Syed Kamal Khan, the event was fully funded by them without the help of the government or any other organisation. He added that while Pakhtuns from Balochistan could have participated, they were not invited due to a limited budget.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan team coordinator Naeem Khan declared the Afghan’s visit a success. “We have had a good impression of Pakistan and hope that the Pakistani boxers will visit Afghanistan for similar events in the future,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2015.

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