Boxing fades, four fight on

Waseem has since moved into the professional boxing and has become a WBA World Gold champion.The drought continued at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and the 2023 Games in Hangzhou, with Pakistan’s boxers failing to reach the podium.This time, the country will field two men and two women at the Games in Japan, which formally open on September 19.Sumama Rahman will compete in the 55kg category, while Irfan Khan….

Fatima Zehra will fight at 60kg and Maria Rind at 51kg.The squad has been training at the Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad since August 24 after the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) conducted an earlier camp in Rawalpindi with the assistance from the army and the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA).“Yes, the army backed us, more especially administratively, and we are thankful to them,” PBF president Col Nasir Tung told The Express….

Nasir said Pakistan’s boxers lacked the international exposure needed to build rankings and gain experience against stronger oppositions.“We don’t have corporate sector support and state also does not back us that much and it’s not easy to ensure maximum participation of boxers in international circuit,” he said.That lack of competition has a direct impact on Pakistan’s prospects at major events, he added.“Unless you give exposure to boxers they will not….

Maria Rind, who comes from Karachi’s Lyari area, was included in Pakistan’s Commonwealth Games squad but ultimately could not travel because of a lack of resources.Rind has competed at a handful of international events during her career and will now have another opportunity to test herself on the Asian stage.For Irfan Khan, the tournament will mark a bigger milestone.

Pakistan sends two men, two women to Japan Asian Games as funding, exposure remain hurdles.

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