October 18, 2002	Friday	Sha'aban 11, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: When Javed Miandad smashed a six in the Australasia Cup 16 years ago, cash rained down on him from a nation obsessed with cricket. In contrast, a poor boxer from the slums of Lyari who earned Pakistan their only gold at this month’s Asian Games in Busan has got a cold response.

Ask 22-year-old Meherullah and he would tell you that the achievements of boxers have gone unnoticed in the past and he wouldn’t be surprised if the same happens again.

“I cannot eat the medal and fill my belly,” says Meherullah whose gold in the 57kg saved Pakistan the blushes after Tahir Zaman’s fancied class of 2002 — the hockey team — failed to land a medal for the first time in the Games.

He says that boxing has always been given a step-motherly treatment from the powers that be and points out that the hockey players, despite their poor showing earned $70 per day during the Asiad while in comparison the boxers got $200 only for the 20 days that they were in Busan. “Why this discrimination,” he asks.

A contractual employee of the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) with a meagre salary of Rs3,500 per month, Meherullah said he now deserved to be regularised by his employers, having served them for seven years.

And he was quite hopeful that KPT would give him the credit he deserves after his fine showing at the Games where he collected his fourth international medal of his career.

His earlier medals were a bronze each in the 1998 and 2000 editions of the Greenhill Boxing in Karachi and another bronze that he claimed at the Fajr International Championship in Iran last year.

Meherullah, who has six brothers and three sisters said that the credit for his achievements would always go to the KPT so it was upto the department to look after him. “So far the pattern has been the same - fight, win a medal and show it off and that’s it. No encouragement has been forthcoming.”

“Although I do not see a future in boxing, I will continue to fight and my next target is to win gold at the SAF Games.” Islamabad are to stage the regional Games next year.

“Originally I compete in the 54 kg category but since Haider (Ali) was not there, my coach suggested that I take part in the 57kg competition.” Haider won a gold at this year’s Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

“In the run-up to the Asian Games we were following a rigorous training schedule with three sessions each day and because of that we were all confident of doing well.”

And they all did remarkably well with Noman Karim picking up a silver in 51 kg, Asghar Ali bagging a silver in 63.5 kg, Ahmed Ali Khan (silver, 75 kg), Shaukat Ali (silver, 91 kg) and Mirza Muhammad Iqbal capturing a bronze in the plus 91 kg.

But some money has poured in for Meherullah. As he prepared to leave Islamabad for Karachi Thursday afternoon, he disclosed that the Pakistan ambassador in Korea had given him a cheque for $5000 on winning gold. Similarly the Pakistani president of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA), Prof Anwar Chowdhry presented him $500 following the final bout where he beat Galib Jafarov of Kazakhstan.

“Boxing is a full-time job, the training schedules are tough, but I am confident of winning more medals if I get the support that I need.”