PBF planning to field boxers in Baku qualifiers

Having failed to send boxers to China for the Asian qualifying round for Olympics, the cash-starved Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) is planning to field national pugilists in the World Qualifying round to be held in Azerbaijan capital Baku from June 7-19.

“Yes, we are very serious and will definitely avail ourselves of this last chance in Baku,” PBF secretary Iqbal Hussain told ‘The News’ from Hyderabad on Tuesday.

The strained relations of the PBF with the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) deprived national boxers of a chance to feature in the continental qualifiers being held these days in the Chinese city of Qiana’n. The PSB refused to release funds to the PBF for the purpose which forced the federation to withdraw from the event from which three boxers in each weight category will qualify for the Rio Olympics.

The reason behind the strained relations between the PBF and the PSB was that the federation had not implemented the national sports policy.

However, after Pakistan missed China’s tour due to financial constraints, the PBF’s executive committee decided to restore working relations with the PSB. It also decided that the PBF would incorporate the tenure-restriction clause in its constitution and send the amended copy to the PSB. The committee asked Iqbal to meet Pakistan Olympic Association’s (POA) president Lt Gen (retd) Arif Hasan before meeting the Director General of the PSB.

“In a couple of days I am going to meet Arif Hasan and will then go to Islamabad to meet the PSB officials. We have already amended our constitution and have incorporated the tenure-restriction clause. The amended document will be submitted with the Board,” Iqbal said.

“I hope the government will fund our federation and back our forthcoming world qualifying round,” he added.

“If still the PSB did not issue us the fund then we would not sit idle but we would this time manage our boxers’ tour of Baku. We cannot miss it,” Iqbal said.

“This is our last chance and we have some good boxers who can click. I would request the POA and the government to support us in our cause so that we could return to the Olympic fold after 12 years,” Iqbal said.

Pakistani boxers last featured in Olympics in 2004 in Athens.

Through the world qualifiers two boxers in 49 kg category, one each in 91kg and 91+kg and five each in the remaining seven weight categories will advance into Rio Games.

“Our main focus will be on 49kg and the seven weights up to 81kg. It will be useless to field players in heavyweight and super heavyweight categories,” Iqbal said.

“We will be in a better position to plan when we know who qualified for the Rio Olympics through the continental qualifiers,” the official said.

Iqbal said he would discuss the matter of the Cuban coach PBF has hired in the meeting with the PSB DG Ganjera.

“We have recruited Cuban coach Comas Aguilera Bernardo as the agreement has been signed. We would like Comas to come as soon as possible so that the camp could be resumed,” Iqbal said.

He said while sending boxers back a few days ago, when it was decided that Pakistan would not feature in China qualifiers, he had advised them to keep training.

“I hope they will return to the camp with the same fitness level which they had achieved during the camp,” he said.

Iqbal admitted that depriving boxers of China qualifiers was damaging. “It was shocking for me, the boxers and the entire boxing family. We could do nothing as we did not have sufficient funds,” he said.

(Source: The News)