"The truth is I’m not afraid of the punches that I sustain during the fight or training — now I enjoy them, it means I’m in the game,” says Pakistan’s record-making boxer Fatima Zahra, revealing what it feels like to pursue a passion-driven career in a society that deems boxing to be unsuitable for a girl.

The eight-time national champion and the 2025 National Games gold medallist is currently competing at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, where she has already ensured herself a bronze at least, thus becoming the first Pakistani woman to bag a medal for the country in her sport. She dominated the opening bout in the round of 16 against her opponent from Lesotho and won it on a technical knockout. At the time of writing, she had also won the quarter-final.

This was her first international outing since the Islamic Solidarity Games 2025 in November, when she registered her first international win and became the first Pakistani woman to win a medal at that event, opening her country’s tally on the medal table in Riyadh with a bronze.

Fatima Zahra, who has already ensured a medal at the Commonwealth Games for Pakistan in boxing, has been undefeated nationally since 2021. But international medals had eluded her, until she turned it around at the Islamic Solidarity Games last year

A DESPERATE PRAYER

The journey to get an international medal was a long one.

Even though she remained undefeated on the national circuit in the featherweight category ever since she began boxing in 2021, Fatima only had a series of losses to her credit at global events.

“I remember that, before going to Riyadh for the Islamic Solidarity Games, I had a very heavy heart and a very distressed mind,” Fatima tells Eos. “It was a point in my life where I was very disheartened, because I hadn’t been able to deliver the results I had hoped for on the international stage.

“I felt people were critical of my performance and it was such a dark place to be in. But I also recognised that it was another opportunity and I must seize it. If it didn’t work out, I thought I might quit boxing at this level.”

She had momentarily doubted her own achievements, which included carving her place at the 2024 Paris Olympics qualifiers, which were also the World Boxing Championships in Italy, participating at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, and qualifying for the Youth World Championship in Spain.

“I always remember this quote by my personal coach, Raheel Adnan,” says Fatima, who has been nicknamed Eagle for her agility in the ring. “He said, ‘One needs to defeat a champion to become one’, and I really took it to heart.”

Fatima believes moving up to the 60kg weight class also made a huge difference.

A tall girl by Pakistani standards, Fatima stands at 5 feet 6 inches, and shedding weight to 57kg — her previous category — had been an added struggle in the ring for her.

“You must understand that we are from a working class family,” she adds. “I didn’t have shoes or gloves. I couldn’t even afford my kit, but I started training because it felt good, and I must say that my coach gave me the shoes, the gloves, and the kit, which really helped. I trained there with my elder sister, who is also a boxer now,” says Fatima with immense appreciation for her mentor and coach, among other coaches who train her for the Pakistan Army team at the national camp.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

It was in the summer vacations of 2018 that a young girl in Sargodha was taken by a sport, a passion that she felt she needed to pursue, much to the chagrin of her mother, but a delight to her father, karate black-belt Saqib Raza.

“It was something that just took over me, but at the time I didn’t know how to train for it. We have a small house and, at first, it was just a fun activity, but I kept thinking about boxing.

“So my father asked me if I really wanted to take it up seriously, and when I replied positively, he took me to train with my coach Raheel at his home.

“You must understand that we are from a working class family,” she adds. “I didn’t have shoes or gloves. I couldn’t even afford my kit, but I started training because it felt good, and I must say that my coach gave me the shoes, the gloves, and the kit, which really helped. I trained there with my elder sister, who is also a boxer now,” says Fatima with immense appreciation for her mentor and coach, among other coaches who train her for the Pakistan Army team at the national camp.

“My love for boxing is greater than peoples’ hate for girls who box. I left the sport for a year and a half. I stayed away. But then I returned to it, because it was harder not to box than to box,” recalls Fatima.

Fatima returned with more zeal than ever before. She trained assiduously and took the gold medal at the DHA Boxing Championship in the 60-kg event; it was her first competition after her return.

From 2021 onward, Fatima has been a force to be reckoned with, utterly dominating the national championships and shining at the National Games and National Championships.

“Once I returned, I made sure that I trained regularly, without missing a session, and I kept competing, and I’m happy that I still haven’t lost at the national level,” says Fatima nonchalantly.

She used to compete for the Pakistan Air Force departmental team at the junior level, but was soon picked by Pakistan Army, one of the two biggest departmental sides in domestic sports in Pakistan.

Major Irfan Younis, who is the secretary general for the Pakistan Boxing Federation, saw the potential in Fatima. “She is an asset for Pakistan,” he says. “So far, the Pakistan Army has helped her, and the Pakistan Boxing Federation is also ensuring her participation in all international events, but we can only do so much.”

“We need the support of the government to facilitate more international tours and training for her,” he adds.

Similarly, coach Raheel recalls: “I could see right away that she has the makings of a champion. She was so dedicated to the sport at such a young age.

“When she came in, I tested her like I would test other kids. Sometimes I would leave the kids on their own after basic sessions, just to see how well they take instruction and how long they stick around, because a lot of them just come in for fun or just to look cool, and very few stay for the long haul.

“But even after all these years, Fatima is so determined to improve that she came to my gym to train even on Eidul Azha, before going to the army [national] camp for the Commonwealth Games,” says Raheel, who started his academy in 2018 after himself retiring from the game.

EYES ON MORE INTERNATIONAL GLORY

Fatima’s focus is now on winning more international medals.

“I’ve told everyone that my eyes are set on international events,” says Fatima. “My ultimate goal is the Los Angeles Olympics qualification, and I want to perform well at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games too.

“The competition would only become tougher at the international events,” says the Pakistan Pro Green featherweight belt holder. “It was challenging in the Paris Olympics qualifiers, and now European countries, and others like the USA and India are all working very hard on their boxers, especially for the Olympic qualifiers.

“All the new talent that I’ve seen in the world events I can only foresee a very tough competition for me,” admits Fatima. But she adds, “It wouldn’t be easy to qualify for the LA Olympics, but it can be done with the correct support and resources.”

The writer is a sports journalist. X: @NatashaRaheel

Published in Dawn, EOS, August 2nd, 2026