PSB considering action against PBF

Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) is considering taking action against Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) for mishandling boxing affairs in the country.

“Where is the PBF? Who runs it? A serious action will be taken against the federation,” a senior official of the Board told ‘The News’ on Monday.

When he was told that the PBF was considering restoring working relations with the PSB, the official said such statements were only meant for the media. “On ground we don’t see any such step from the PBF,” the official said.

The PBF has not yet implemented the national sports policy although other federations have done so.

The strained relations between the PSB and the PBF forced the latter to withdraw the national squad from the Asian qualifying round for Olympics recently held in Qian’an, China, because of financial problems.

As per rules the PSB was not bound to release funds to the PBF for sending its squad to China as the PBF had not incorporated the tenure-restriction clause in its constitution.

After the qualifiers fiasco, the PBF convened its executive committee meeting here at the residence of its president Doda Khan Bhutto and it was decided that the federation could not afford to go against the rules of the PBF and would implement the national sports policy.

The committee asked the PBF secretary Iqbal Hussain to immediately meet with the PSB Director General Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera and restore working relations with the Board. But ten days have passed without any progress in this regard.

Iqbal told this correspondent on Monday that he would first meet the Pakistan Olympic Association’s (POA) president Lt Gen (retd) Arif Hasan and then the PSB boss, but when he will meet and how the matter will be settled between the two bodies is yet to be known.

The strained relations between the PSB and the PBF have adversely affected boxing.

The PBF claims that it has hired a Cuban coach but a discussion of this correspondent with a PSB official on Monday made it clear that it was not easy to bring in the Cuban.

“I cannot say anything about the Cuban,” the PSB official said.

Restoring working relations with the Board would enable the PBF to execute its plan of sending national pugilists to Azerbaijan capital Baku in June for the World Qualifying round for Olympics to be held in Brazil in August.

If the PBF implemented the sports policy it will have to elect a new president at the end of this year because sitting chief Doda Khan Bhutto will complete his second four-year tenure and will become ineligible for contesting the elections for the third time.

The PBF has already started thinking of bringing in a new president. Pakistan Olympic Association’s (POA) secretary Khalid Mehmood may be chosen for the post as he has recently been chosen to lead Punjab Boxing Association (PBA) as president. Peshawar’s Waqar Maroof, a former PBF executive vice-president, can also be considered.

Meanwhile, the PSB is conducting an investigation against the PBF for the way it used a hefty fund released to it by the Board for preparation for the 2012 London Olympics qualifiers.

(Source: The News)