September 13, 2003	Saturday	Rajab 15, 1424

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KARACHI, Sept 12: Pakistan Army proved their boxing prowess as they clinched national ranking boxing tournament title, scooping- up three golds, four silvers and three bronzes on Friday.

The fights on the final day were delayed because of late arrival of PTV crew. The officials, media and the fans were made to wait more when the PTV producer, who also came late, re- installed the television cameras on her choice of points.

To get a better reception, the producer also asked the organizers to put white sheets on the windows which made the stuffy atmosphere more suffocating at the dilapidated National Sports Training and Coaching Centre.

The fights commenced late on the second day since the officials and boxers were at the PTV station busy recording a show in honour of those who won medals at Commonwealth championship.

Karachi Port Trust (KPT) finished as runners-up with three golds, one silver and two bronzes, while Balochistan settled at third place with one gold, two silvers and five bronzes.

Balochistan were, however, deprived of a possible chance of taking second position as their boxer Pukar Khan was asked by the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) to withdraw. Instead, a Pakistani, Yasir, living in America was allowed to contest under the banner of PBF.

Yasir, who was allowed to compete in heavyweight category against Army’s Abdul Razzaq, did not show up, depriving Pukar from fighting despite being present at the venue. KPT finished with 13 points and Balochistan with 12. Had Pukar fought and won, his team would have ended as runners-up with 15 points.

The fights of two boxing stars — KPT’s Meherullah and Asghar Ali Shah — were the main feature of the evening. Both the pugilists entertained the packed-to-capacity crowd with their aggressive boxing.

Olympian Asghar, who recently returned after winning a light- welterweight Commonwealth gold, took few seconds of the opening round to thrash Army’s Faisal Karim as referee stopped the bout.

Asghar, perhaps inspired by former world champion Mike Tyson, downed Faisal with a single ferocious right on his opponent’s chin. The Army boxer, who was shaken after the blow, had to be taken for medical treatment.

Meher, a Asian Games gold medallist, began the featherweight bout with combination of left and right against tall and lanky Tariq Ameen of Wapda. Tariq could not stand against Meher’s class and got eight mandatory counts in the first round and then in second and third before RSC verdict in Meher’s favour.

Army’s middleweight Ahmad Ali Khan, a Asian Games silver medallist, slammed a powerful left on Navy’s Amir Riaz’s chin to become the winner after RSC decision in the opening round.

Zakir Hussain of Sindh lost to Army’s Nisar Ahmad in the hotly-contested welterweight final. Nisar had Zakir on the ropes in the first round, but lost confidence in the second and received eight counts.

The referee stopped the contest after Zakir was pummelled in the third round and was given eight counts thrice.

Pakistan Navy’s Jawad Shah staved off a strong challenge by KPT’s Abdullah Qambrani to emerge as 2-1 winner. Although Abdullah had better reach, the sailor fought well to win by a close margin.

Muzaffar Iqbal, a Commonwealth bronze medallist, utilised his vast experience against a furious Riaz Kasi of Balochistan to win the super-heavyweight title after RSC verdict in the first round.

Riaz, who was belligerent even before the fight, commenced with aggressive but careless style, while Muzaffar kept his cool. Muzaffar’s calculated blows forced the referee to stop the skirmish to save the bleeding Riaz from further harm.

Results (finals):

Light-flyweight: Mushtaq Hussain (Balochistan) bt Syed Hassan Shah (Army) 2-1.

Flyweight: Jawad Shah (Navy) bt Abdullah Qambrani (KPT) 2-1.

Bantamweight: Abid Ali (Wapda) bt Tariq Zia (Army) 3-0.

Featherweight: Meherullah (KPT) bt Tariq Ameen (Wapda) RSC/OC/III.

Lightweight: Zahid Hussain (KPT) bt Shahjahan (Sindh) 3-0.

Light-welterweight: Asghar Ali Shah (KPT) bt Faisal Karim (Army) RSC/H/I.

Welterweight: Nisar Ahmad (Army) bt Zakir Hussain (Sindh) RSC/H/III.

Middleweight: Ahmad Ali Khan (Army) bt Amir Zia (Navy) RSC/H/I.

Light-heavyweight: Allah Bukhsh (Navy) bt Fakhr-e-Alam (Army) walkover.

Heavyweight: Abdul Razzaq (Army) bt Pukar Khan (Balochistan) walkover.

Super-heavyweight: Muzaffar Iqbal (Wapda) bt Riaz Kasi (Balochistan) RSC/OC/I.