KARACHI, May 17: Pakistan Amateur Boxing Federation (PABF) has selected four of its boxers who excelled at the last year’s Asian Games in Busan (South Korea) for its long-term training programme for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens (Greece).

Professor Anwar Chowdhry, President of the PABF said here on Saturday that the four boxers have been picked for the ambitious training programme on the basis of their performance in international events as well as their fitness and talents.

Asian Games gold medallist Meherullah (featherweight) leads the list of pugilists that include Ahmed Ali Khan (middleweight), Asghar Ali Shah (light-welterweight) and Noman Karim (light-flyweight). Apart from Meherullah, the other three boxers won silver medals at the 2002 Asian Games.

Professor Chowdhry said that these four pugilists were the best available lot in the country and was confident that with proper training they can also excel at the Olympic Games.

The PABF President said that the boxers will now be sent to participate in international events before they start training for the Olympic Games in Russia and Azerbaijan later this year.

Chowdhry said that he has decided to send two boxers each to Russia and Azerbaijan where they can train with the national Olympic teams of the two countries for the Athens Olympiad.

He said that the plan will be materialised because of a generous donation of Rs five million given to the PABF recently in Islamabad by General Syed Arif Hassan, Chairman of the 9th South Asian Federation (SAF) Games Organising Committee.

Chowdhry said that it is because of this timely grant that he will be able to send the boxers to train in the best possible manner for the Olympic Games.

He said that as a first step the boxers will be sent to participate in the 2003 World Boxing Championship to be held in Bangkok in July.

After they return from Bangkok, the boxers will then be sent to Russia and Azerbaijan where they will train for almost a year before competing in the Olympics to be held in August next year.

Chowdhry said that the long-term training programme has been devised to gain maximum results and hoped that the local boxers will be good enough to win medals in Athens.

But before going to Athens to compete in the Olympics, the national boxers will first have to go through three pre-Olympic qualifying rounds next year.

The PABF President said that the training camps in Russia and Azerbaijan will help his boxers to give best possible results in the Olympic qualifiers as well.

Chowdhry said that he was looking forward to around six of the Pakistani boxers to qualify for the Olympics.

Four Pakistani boxers qualified to compete in the 2000 Olympic Games held in Sydney (Australia).—PPI