A six-member Pakistan squad will proceed to Thailand on Wednesday to participate in Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament. Previously known as the King's Cup, the tournament will be held in Bangkok from July 18-28. "Our four pugilists along with their coach and team manager will be leaving for the event," Colonel Nasir Tung, Secretary Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) told newsmen on Tuesday.
He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Qadir Khan (64kg) and Eidullah (49kg) would fly from Peshawar Airport, while Tanveer Ahmed (75kg) and Muhammad Said (81kg) of Pakistan Navy would depart from Karachi Airport for the event. "They will be accompanied by their coach Liaquat Ali and manager Syed Kamal", he said. Tung said that Pakistan boxers had undergone intensive training at camps in Peshawar and Karachi and were in good shape.
"We want to give maximum exposure to these boxers and their participation in the King's Cup is part of our plan to prepare them for two Olympic qualifiers, taking place between March and May, next year. "They have also the potential to claim medals in the Cup as they are going to feature in it on the basis of their outstanding performances at the national level," Tung added.
He said Tanveer and Qadir were also probable for the Tokyo Olympics and that was why the federation did not want to miss any chance that could help them earn a spot in world's coveted sports event. "Besides these pugilists, we've Awais of Pakistan Army and Syed Muhammad Asif, who can also claim a spot in Tokyo Olympics Games. That is why we have decided to focus on our top performers ahead of these Games," he said.
"We are also trying to get a training tour of China for our boxers so that we can prepare them for Olympics qualifiers in a better way. It will be our effort that this tour is arranged ahead of South Asian Games (SAG) to enable them fight effectively at both the events," he added.
He said that the federation had also requested Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) to set up training camp for the SAG adding, "We have given PSB two to three reminders that training camp is necessary for producing better results. However, we are still waiting for a go ahead from it (board). The 13th edition of SAG is scheduled to be held in Nepal from December 1-10.
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