Pakistani pugilists punch their way into the boxing slots for the 2004 Olympics
AT the recently concluded Asian Olympic qualifying boxing tournament in Karachi, Pakistan managed to secure no less than three gold medals. By securing these top spots, Pakistan not only ensured its place as one of the top three boxing nations in the continent, it also installed bright prospects of it being a serious contender at this year’s Olympic Games.
Pakistan’s good position in the qualifying rounds was ensured by featherweight Sohail Baloch, light welter Faisal Karim and middleweight Ahmed Ali Khan who displayed stunning performances to outwit their opponents with a show of strength and courage. And this was after they had picked up ten gold medals in the recently concluded SAF Games. However, it was at the Olympic qualifiers that they displayed their real strength.
Pakistan’s three gold medals took them to the first place, ahead of Kazakhstan with two golds and a bronze and Thailand with one gold, a silver and two bronze placed at third.
The gold medal winners joined compatriots lightweight Noman Kareem, bantamweight Meherullah and lightweight Asghar Ali Shah in the squad to Athens. These three had already booked their berths to the Olympics during earlier qualifying rounds in China and Philippines.
But the outstanding results would not have been possible had it not been for the efforts of the Cuban coaches. Pakistani pugilists have been under their training for a long time. And it is hoped that this training will pay off and help Pakistan get its first boxing medal in the Olympics since 1988 Seoul Games.
Nevertheless, the man who had for long working tirelessly for the betterment of Pakistan boxing is the 80-year old Professor Anwar Chowdry. Also the president of the Amateur Boxing Federation, he has been able to extract some of the promised funds from the coffers of Pakistan Sports Board. But other, major promises, especially those made by President Pervez Musharraf, have yet to be implemented.
These were announced after Pakistan’s outstanding achievements in the previous Asian Games when three boxers received Pride of Performance awards. An annual grant of Rs10 million ordered by the President was received by the Federation the first year. But since, nothing has happened.
According to boxing officials here an amount of Rs4 million was spent on the last Olympic qualifying rounds held in Karachi. Some Rs1.5 million was collected by means of sponsorship. The rest was met by the Federation’s own collective efforts.
Following a number of earlier incentives, allocation and enhancement of funds, boxing authorities in Pakistan planned to streamline the infrastructure and strengthen the base in an effort to produce a better crop of boxers. But no progress till date has been achieved, mainly because funds for the proposed projects have not been sanctioned.
There is plenty of talent in the country. It is only that the potential has to be exploited in a proper way. And that is only possible when sufficient funds are at hand. Though the annual grant has been increased from a paltry Rs200,000 to Rs10 million, much has yet to be realized.
Nevertheless, the three gold medalists at Karachi were the main attraction. And after reaching the final, they were in a flamboyant as they knew they had booked their seats to Athens. Sohail Baloch enthralled the fans with right artistry and punched his rival Asylbex Talasbaev of Kyrgystan, 32-12 in the final of featherweight bout, recording an outright victory. And displaying his expertise in the fourth round with telling blows Sohail sent his opponent on the ropes several times when the referee stopped the fight.
Ahmed Ali Khan, the Asian Games silver medalist and SAF Games gold medalist, pocketed the middleweight gold after recording a gruelling 42-32 victory over Thailand’s Suriya Pasathi Nphimai. Ahmed seemed to have lost his direction in the first two rounds but gathered his wits in the third and landed powerful punches on his rival to earn most of the points.
Light welterweight Faisal Kareem drew a packed hall as he faced India’s Vijender Singh, the world junior championship bronze medalist. Still, backed by a vociferous home crowd, he managed to outpoint his rival 33-13.
Baring a few lackadaisical performances and crying over spilt milk, the proceedings in Karachi were conducted smoothly. The fact that no protest was registered by the technical committee proves that no participant had his axe to grind after the bouts. The referees were appointed by the world boxing body and at times their awarding of points may have appeared bias to the losing side. But eventually the results were well accepted by representatives of all the participating countries.
In that context it may be mentioned here that some of the judges, referees and other officials from the country were sent for international seminars and workshops to receive training for taking correct decisions where they were officially posted.
Prof. Anwar Chaudhry, a former educationist of the NED Engineering University, Karachi, has invented a scoring machine which has helped in eliminating juggling of points earned by the fighters. The new scoring system was provided to the officials in Pakistan so that fair decisions are taken during bouts. He earlier invented the spy camera which has helped in monitoring decisions of the judges. These cameras will now be installed in every domestic and international event staged at home.
A strong contingent of eight Iraqis managed to reach here out of their war ravaged country. Though they failed to secure a berth for the Olympics but they were seen in high morale after the event. The team manager disclosed that their pugilist were whisked away to England by an American coach and trained there till the time of competition.
A total of 135 pugilists from 28 Asian countries converged on the event which was the third qualifying round to fill the eighteen berths of Olympic Games. Completion of competitions at Karachi saw three Pakistanis, two each from Kazakhstan and Thailand and a boxer each from South Korea, Philippines, Mongolia, China, Iran, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan completed the tally. In all 62 berths were allocated for Asian countries by International Olympic Committee for the Athens meet.
The pugilists plan to visit Cuba in the first week of June to prepare themselves for the Olympic Games but it appears that they may attempt the entry through a third country, which of course will involve a lot of time and hassle and can adversely affect morale of players.
Pakistani pugilists punch their way into the boxing slots for the 2004 Olympics 
