Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Pakistan stands 3rd in SAG boxing event
Niamat gets gold for Pakistan in SAG Boxing
KARACHI: Pakistan won one gold and a silver medal Monday to claim third position in the ongoing 11th South Asian Federation Games 2010.
Quetta-born Niamat Ullah won gold medal in 54kg Bantamweight category when he out-punched Bhutani boxer Sigyel by the score of 14-8.
However, skipper of Pakistani boxing contingent, Mohammad Waseem beaten by Indian captain and current Asian Champion Suranjoy Singh by 4-11 points.
Pakistan claimed a total of four medals; one gold and silver medal each with two bronze medals; while two Pakistani boxers adnan hussain (60kg) and Abid Ali (57kg) failed in quarter final and never won any medal.
President of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), Lt Gen (Retd) Arif Hassan was present at Mohammad Ali Boxing Stadium Dhaka to watch Pakistani boxers in action.
On the medals table, Pakistan stood third with four golds, while India claimed the first spot with three gold medals and Bangladesh finished there campaign on second position with two gold medals, one silver and two bronze.
Two other boxers Nadir Baloch (48kg) and Amir Khan were defeated in the semi-final stage and both had to content with bronze medal.
Pakistan Boxing team will cam back at Karachi airport today (Tuesday) at 5-15pm along with some other contingent teams.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Pakistan boxing coach hopes for gold in South Asian Games
Karachi: Pakistan boxing coach Francisco Hernandez Roldan expects only one gold medal at the South Asian Games where he believes India will be the toughest rivals and the favourites in the competition. Karachi, Pakistan. 02/02/2010
The Cuban, however, chose to keep the name of the Pakistani boxer and even the weight category in which there is a chance of winning the gold, a secret.
'I can’t disclose who can or will win the gold medal at the South Asian Games. But I am sure that we will at least win one gold. I don’t know who my boxers will face as it depends on the draw, but if we consider the credentials, then no doubt India is the favourite,' Roldan said in an exclusive interview with Dawn.com at the training camp.
The six Pakistan boxers to fight at the games will be light-flyweight Nadir Baloch, flyweight Mohammed Waseem, bantamweight Naimatullah, featherweight Abid Ali, lightweight Adnan Hussain and light-welterweight Amir Khan.
The coach had reasons for considering India as the favourites as they have been doing remarkably well in the international boxing for quite some time and even won their first-ever Olympic boxing medal when Vijender Kumar bagged the middleweight bronze at 2008 Beijing Games.
'They (India) have won the bronze medal at the Olympics. They are in the world ranking and they have a steady Cuban coach since 1992 which makes them the strongest side in the boxing competitions of the games,' said the coach.
Roldan said there were at least 44 Indian boxers available for the international competitions which makes India a formidable side. The South Asian Games which started on Friday in the Bangladeshi capital city of Dhaka.
But it is not only India the Pakistani coach considers a formidable challenge. Roldan is also cautious about the Sri Lankans who might give their opponents a tough time at the games.
'Both India and Sri Lanka regularly train in Cuba for one or two months in a year. Besides, Sri Lanka also has the services of Cuban coaches for the last 10 or 12 years which gives them an edge. They (India and Sri Lanka) will be the greatest challenge at the games.'
Asked why Pakistan could not be considered a powerhouse at the South Asian Games since it also had Cuban coaches for over 10 years, Roldan said lack of experience of Pakistani boxers was the major reason.
'Pakistan does have Cuban coaches for quite a long time but this team is very, very young, and of course inexperienced. They need more international exposure and training tours. If we calculate, the average age of our boxers is just 19. They need time and exposure to groom.'
According to Roldan, Nadir, Naimatullah, and Abid are 19 years old, while Amir is just 18.
About light-flyweight Mohib Bacha, who won the gold at the Benazir international tournament in Karachi last month, the coach said he was dropped as the names of the boxers had already been finalized.
'It was necessary to submit the entries (to the Pakistan Olympic Association) early. And when the names were finalized, Mohib was not as good as Nadir was. So Nadir will be fighting in light-flyweight in Dhaka,' he explained.
Nevertheless, Roldan does not consider South Asian Games just a sparring session for the bigger events such as Delhi Commonwealth Games in October and Guangzhou Asian Games in November. The coach says he will be taking the South Asian Games as seriously as the forthcoming events.
'The South Asian Games will not be a build-up to the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. For me, it is a very important event where we should give our best to win medals.’
Roldan said he would suggest to the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) to send the national pugilists to Cuba on a two-month training tour in June and July.
'Pakistan will also take part in the Commonwealth championships in March in India. And Mohib will also be coming with us this time. After the championships, I will ask the PBF to send the boxers to Cuba for training,' said the coach.
As Roldan believes the present squad has not taken a final shape, there will be changes for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
The Cuban, however, chose to keep the name of the Pakistani boxer and even the weight category in which there is a chance of winning the gold, a secret.
'I can’t disclose who can or will win the gold medal at the South Asian Games. But I am sure that we will at least win one gold. I don’t know who my boxers will face as it depends on the draw, but if we consider the credentials, then no doubt India is the favourite,' Roldan said in an exclusive interview with Dawn.com at the training camp.
The six Pakistan boxers to fight at the games will be light-flyweight Nadir Baloch, flyweight Mohammed Waseem, bantamweight Naimatullah, featherweight Abid Ali, lightweight Adnan Hussain and light-welterweight Amir Khan.
The coach had reasons for considering India as the favourites as they have been doing remarkably well in the international boxing for quite some time and even won their first-ever Olympic boxing medal when Vijender Kumar bagged the middleweight bronze at 2008 Beijing Games.
'They (India) have won the bronze medal at the Olympics. They are in the world ranking and they have a steady Cuban coach since 1992 which makes them the strongest side in the boxing competitions of the games,' said the coach.
Roldan said there were at least 44 Indian boxers available for the international competitions which makes India a formidable side. The South Asian Games which started on Friday in the Bangladeshi capital city of Dhaka.
But it is not only India the Pakistani coach considers a formidable challenge. Roldan is also cautious about the Sri Lankans who might give their opponents a tough time at the games.
'Both India and Sri Lanka regularly train in Cuba for one or two months in a year. Besides, Sri Lanka also has the services of Cuban coaches for the last 10 or 12 years which gives them an edge. They (India and Sri Lanka) will be the greatest challenge at the games.'
Asked why Pakistan could not be considered a powerhouse at the South Asian Games since it also had Cuban coaches for over 10 years, Roldan said lack of experience of Pakistani boxers was the major reason.
'Pakistan does have Cuban coaches for quite a long time but this team is very, very young, and of course inexperienced. They need more international exposure and training tours. If we calculate, the average age of our boxers is just 19. They need time and exposure to groom.'
According to Roldan, Nadir, Naimatullah, and Abid are 19 years old, while Amir is just 18.
About light-flyweight Mohib Bacha, who won the gold at the Benazir international tournament in Karachi last month, the coach said he was dropped as the names of the boxers had already been finalized.
'It was necessary to submit the entries (to the Pakistan Olympic Association) early. And when the names were finalized, Mohib was not as good as Nadir was. So Nadir will be fighting in light-flyweight in Dhaka,' he explained.
Nevertheless, Roldan does not consider South Asian Games just a sparring session for the bigger events such as Delhi Commonwealth Games in October and Guangzhou Asian Games in November. The coach says he will be taking the South Asian Games as seriously as the forthcoming events.
'The South Asian Games will not be a build-up to the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. For me, it is a very important event where we should give our best to win medals.’
Roldan said he would suggest to the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) to send the national pugilists to Cuba on a two-month training tour in June and July.
'Pakistan will also take part in the Commonwealth championships in March in India. And Mohib will also be coming with us this time. After the championships, I will ask the PBF to send the boxers to Cuba for training,' said the coach.
As Roldan believes the present squad has not taken a final shape, there will be changes for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
World Champion Amir Khan Advices Pak Boxers
KARACHI: A piece of advice by Pakistan-origin Light-Welter Weight World Champion British boxer, Amir Khan has arrived for the Pakistani boxers just at the right time as they prepare to fight in the South Asian Federation Games 2010.
Amir Khan called up the young pugilists Saturday and gave them some useful tips during their training camp at Karachi.
Pakistan Boxing team training camp is going on at Pakistan Sports Board Karachi Center for preparation of SAF Games and other upcoming international events.
PBF spokesmen told Xinhua that after the training, Vice President of Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) and Camp commandment Iqbal Hussain had a chat with Amir Khan during which the World Champion boxer asked about the team’s preparation.
On request of Iqbal Hussain, Amir Khan guided Pakistani boxers including Captain Mohammad Waseem, Nadir Baloch, Abid Ali, Niamat Ullah and Amir Khan. Sixth member of the team Adnan Hussain was not present.
Amir Khan gave the boxers tips regarding bout tactics and advised them as per to score points without losing much of the energy.
“I saw much talent in Pakistan for boxing during Shaheed Benazir Bhutto International Boxing Tournament (SBBIBT). They are hard workers and can win many medals in South Asian Games”, said Amir Khan, the PBF spokesman told Xinhua.
It should be noted that Amir Khan was the chief guest in closing ceremony of the SBBIBT earlier this month in Karachi on especial invitation of PBF.
23 countries from Europe, Asia and Africa participated in the competition, while China took the winners trophy of that mega event with 4 gold medals to their name.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Another Shock for PBF ahead of SAF games
KARACHI: Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) was handed serious blow Thursday ahead of the South Asian Federation Games as Ministry of Sports has dropped Assistant Coach, Abdul Majeed Brohi from the contingent.
Pakistan is contesting in the South Asian Games with six boxers and only one coach. As per the international boxing rules, there should be at least one coach for three boxers.
General Secretary, PBF, Muhammad Akram Khan told Xinhua that with just six days left in the team’s departure, this step will hamper our preparations for the Games. “We can’t understand how one coach could handle six boxers. If we receive back to back bouts, it would be very difficult for our boxers to practice and prepare”, he said.
Organisers of South Asian Games have already dented Pakistan’s boxing team by dropping three of its big boxers some days back.
Muhammad Akram Khan expressed his dismay over the step and said that the Sports Ministry has taken this step only 6 days before the team leaving for Dhaka and this unaccepted decision could cost Pakistan’s gold medal hopes.
Pakistan is contesting in the South Asian Games with six boxers and only one coach. As per the international boxing rules, there should be at least one coach for three boxers.
General Secretary, PBF, Muhammad Akram Khan told Xinhua that with just six days left in the team’s departure, this step will hamper our preparations for the Games. “We can’t understand how one coach could handle six boxers. If we receive back to back bouts, it would be very difficult for our boxers to practice and prepare”, he said.
Organisers of South Asian Games have already dented Pakistan’s boxing team by dropping three of its big boxers some days back.
Muhammad Akram Khan expressed his dismay over the step and said that the Sports Ministry has taken this step only 6 days before the team leaving for Dhaka and this unaccepted decision could cost Pakistan’s gold medal hopes.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
PBF mulling to hold another boxing tournament in July this year
Jawad Hussain
Karachi: In a country, where all the international teams, irrespective of what sport they play, refused to tour in the backdrop of terrorists' activities leaving sporting activities in the country to a standstill, Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) pulled up their socks to organise a competition that lured attention of most of the major boxing teams from across the world.
All the credit goes only to PBF for successfully organising first-ever Shaheed Benazir Bhutto International Boxing Tournament (SBBIT), where teams from 24 countries tested their boxing talent. Although, Pakistani boxers failed to come up to the international standards and only one pugilist could grab a Gold Medal, but good thing was that at last Pakistani boxers got some sort of competition of international level.
After a fearful Year 2009, during which a group of terrorists attacked Sri Lankan cricket team while going to Gaddafi Stadium for playing a test match against Pakistan on March 3, 2009. Following the act of terror, Sri Lankan team departed without completing the whole tour, while the worst fallout of the attack was that all the countries stopped their teams from touring Pakistan, which put a huge question mark on future of sports activities in a country, which was in dire need of a sporting way out for the frustrated youth. The year then saw some of the most bloody acts of terror, resulting in a full-fledged army operation in the northern areas of the country.
But SBBIBT came to the scene as a puff of fresh air as the Year 2010 started with a renewed resolve to fight terror through sports as Pakistan Boxing Federation invited world to join hands with Pakistan to reignite international sports activities in Pakistan. One must thank the governments and their boards for sending their teams to Pakistan at a time when terrorists had hit the country's financial hub with quite some force on Ashura day, just a week earlier before the start of the SBBIBT.
PBF has received tremendous praise from all of the major sports organizations of the country, besides glowing words by the foreign media and sports bodies.
A couple of days ago, Federal Sports Ministry, Pakistan Sports Board, Pakistan Olympic Association and other sports organisations gave PBF pat on the back for successfully holding the historical boxing event.
Federal Sports Minister Mir Ijaz Hussain Jakhrani during his telephonic conversation with President PBF, Doda Khan Bhutto said the tournament helped in building a soft image of Pakistan in the world as a safe country for top sports events.
"It is a historic event which will be ever remembered in history of sports and PBF deserve praise for this successful show", said the minister.
Federal Minister for Inter Provisional Coordination, Pir Syed Aftab Shah Jilani -who was previously taking care of Sports Ministry, said the participation of 23 countries in Shaheed Benazir Bhutto International Boxing Tournament was a huge achievement for the country in terms of restoring image suitable for staging international sports events.
President of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Arif Hassan; Secretary, Abdul Khaliq Khan; Vice President POA, Justice (Retd) Khawaja Farooq Saeed; Director General of Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), Syed Ameer Hamza Gilani; and Secretary Sindh Olympic Association, Ahmed Ali Rajput said the successful holding of the event has revved up chances that similar international events will also be held in other disciplines in Pakistan.
President of Balochistan Boxing and VP of PBF Faqir Hussain, Secretary Haji Khuday Raheem, Joint Secretary Liaquat Ali Durrani, Olympian Boxer Asghar Changaizi, also forwarded their congratulations to Vice President PBF, Iqbal Hussain and Secretary Mohammad Akram Khan for staging the event in a trend setting manner.
Let's get back to the performances of the teams which took part in the first sporting event of New Year in Pakistan. China swept the medals tally with 4 gold medals, a silver medal and 2 bronze medals. Syria stood second with 2 gold and silver medals each, while Thailand followed with 2 gold medals. Pakistani pugilists had a great presence in the semi-final stage with 12 boxers fought bouts for the Gold Medal, but only one boxer could maintain his composure as Pakistan stood fourth with only 1 gold medal, a silver and 6 bronze medals.
Mohib Bacha was the gold medallist of the tournament for the hosts. The result shows that Pakistani boxers have to do a lot to make their impact felt in the international arena but regular of holding of such events would definitely uplift the game of boxing.
Keeping in view the facilities and exposure that Pakistani boxers get, this performance is quite satisfactory, but there is a need to mould this raw talent into the real tough cookies at international arena.
During the tournament, PBF also invited the only Pakistani Olympic Medalist in boxing, Hussain Shah from Japan, who appreciated PBF efforts for holding this event. Hussain won bronze medal in 1988 Seoul Olympics. Syed Hussain Shah has also to his credit five gold medals in the South Asian Games history, remained the best boxer of Asia from 1980 to 1988, a rare prominence achieved by any Pakistani pugilist so far.
Later, legendary boxing maestro Amir Khan, the UK-based light welter weight world champion, increased the glamour of the tournament by arriving here with his family to attend the closing ceremony of the tournament.
Amir Khan told media, "There is a huge talent in Pakistan and I foresee boxing becoming a big sports here too under people like Doda Khan and Akram Khan". He also offered Pakistani boxers to get training in his academy based in the UK.
Moreover, nine African boxers revert to Islam during the tournament after getting inspired by the Muslims here.
PBF President Doda Khan Bhutto informed media, "We organised this tournament only through our determinations and we had all the odds against us. However, we succeeded in holding the international tournament and hopefully in future it would be comparatively easier to hold such a tournament".
"We are working for another international tournament in July after the success of this tournament. We have to start from scratch to hold an international event after the unfortunate and unpopular incident of deadly attack on Sri Lankan cricket team here in Pakistan last year.
"Nobody was ready to come here and everybody here also doubted the holding of such an event. Many high-ups in government offices even ridiculed us. But by the grace of Allah we were successful in holding the tournament," PBF secretary Akram Khan said.
"It was a big event but unfortunately the people in the government failed to create hype of the tournament. They should have visited the tournament much often so that it could have gained more publicity," he added.
He further said that the sponsors were reluctant to indulge with us because of lack of support from the government. "They also doubted that such an event could be held and therefore didn't come forward to sponsor us," Akram said.
He further said that the same thing would not happen next time hopefully and they would be able to bring sponsors in for the tournament in July.
He said that international tournaments at home are very important for uplifting boxing in the country. "When the youth here see boxers playing and achieving glorious victories, they create a charm for the game in them. Moreover, more boxers could be featured in the events at home as we did during SBBIBT. They get exposure against international pugilists. If we had featured these 22 boxers in an international tournament somewhere else then they couldn't have achieved anything.
He said that tournaments like SBBIBT should regularly be held at least twice a year for uplifting the level of local boxers and boxing as a whole in the country. ''The boxers' achievement in the tournament was good but not excellent. We had at least won three gold medals. We still have to go a long way.''
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