July 8, 2006	Saturday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 11, 1427

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KARACHI, July 7: Fielding two squads, hosts Pakistan will be fighting for glory at Green Hill Cup international boxing which begins on Saturday at Karachi Port Trust (KPT) Sports Complex.

Apart from Pakistan, who will be fielding two squads as usual, other participants are Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Italy, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Philippines, Thailand, Syria, India, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Iran, Egypt and China.

Like in the previous competitions, boxers from former Central Asian States, are expected to give their opponents a tough time, while it will be hard to predict a victory for hosts.

The PBF has announced two squads. Most of the boxers who won title or won silver at national championship in Karachi earlier this year have been ignored while those who did not participate have been picked.

Light-flyweight Abdul Razzaq, who the gold at national championship did not find a place in both the squads, while Mohammad Waseem and Nisar Khan, who even did not took part in the premier event, have been included.

Similarly, flyweight Noor Badshah and bantamweight Ali Mohammad have been included in the squads, although they didn’t feature in the national event, while featherweight Mehrullah is included, sidelining national gold medallist Sohail Baloch.

Likewise, lightweight Asghar Ali Shah did not fight in the national championship but will be featuring in the event. Both Asghar and Mehrullah were issued show cause notice by their department KPT for refusing to participate in the national competition.

Welterweight Faisal Kareem, who didn’t participate in the national championship has been selected, overlooking Sahib Khan who won the gold and Jan Mohammad earned a silver at the national.

Interestingly, Allah Bukhsh who is the light-heavyweight national champion will feature as a middleweight. Mohammad Ehsan, who won middleweight gold at national championship, failed to get a place in any of the squad, while Nadir Khan, who did not participate in the national event, will fight for Pakistan Whites.

Riaz Kasi, the national super-heavyweight silver medallist, was overlooked to accommodate Mirwaiz Khan in the same category.

However, it will be Asghar and Mehrullah, being most experienced star boxers, who will be the medal hopes for Pakistan.

Having the privilege of fielding two full-strength teams has, however, increased the chances of Pakistan to stand at least on the victory podium.

Pakistan outfits:

WHITES: Nisar Khan (48kg), Noor Badshah (51kg), Ali Mohammad (54kg), Bakht Hussain (57kg), Sajid Raja (60kg), Karar Hussain (64kg), Syed Hayatullah (69kg), Nadir Khan (75kg), Mohammad Sajjad (81kg), Faizuddin (91kg), Mirwaiz Khan (over 91kg).

GREENS: M. Wasim (48kg), Nauman Karim (51kg), Abid Ali (54kg), Mehrullah (57kg), Asghar Ali (60kg), Faisal Karim (64kg), Dur Mohammad (69kg), Allah Bux (75kg), Tanveer Shaukat (81kg), Shaukat Ali (91kg), Muzzafar Iqbal (over 91kg).