Doda eyes international training for boxers

By Alam Zeb Safi

Karachi: In a bid to prepare a fighting lot for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) is seriously thinking about sending its top boxers abroad for training and competitions.

Following an invitation from Cuba, we plan to send our top eight boxers to feature in the Cuban Olympic Games which will be held there from May 23 to June 1. We will send a request to the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) within a few days and if we are assured of a support then we will send the boxers there on May 20 who will not only feature in the tournament but will also stay there for a training period of around 45 days, the secretary of the PBF Muhammad Akram Khan told The News in an interview on Thursday.

Akram said that top eight boxers for the said trip would be picked after the National Ranking Boxing tournament which will be held here in the last week of April.

He added that Pakistan would field boxers in 49kg, 52kg, 56kg, 60kg, 75kg and 91kg plus in the Commonwealth Games while in the Asian Games a full-fledged team of 11 boxers would be fielded.

Commonwealth Games would be conducted in New Delhi from October 3-14 while the Asian Games are slated to be organised by China in Guangzhou from November 12-27.

Akram also reiterated his commitment that in July the PBF is going to hold an international tournament, saying, after the tournament a month-long joint training camp will be held which will also benefit the Pakistani pugilists ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

Kenya, Central Africa and Cameroon etc have shown their willingness to have a joint training session in Pakistan and we will offer free boarding and lodging facilities to the foreign boxers who will stay here after the tournament, the PBF official said.

Kazakhstan has also extended us an offer, we could send our boxers for a month-long training in September and we plan to avail this offer, Akram said.

However, he said if Pakistan could not send their boxers to Kazakhstan due to certain reasons then the offer of the light welterweight world champion Aamir Khan would be availed and the team would be sent to England for one month training ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

To a query, he said that after the Commonwealth Games, Pakistan would have almost a month time at their disposal ahead of the Asian Games and all efforts would be made to send the top boxers either to Thailand or Kazakhstan for training.

We have Thailand and Kazakhstan on our radar but Thailand would be an easy and economical option for us, the official said.

He said that the England-based Haroon Khan, the brother of world champion Aamir Khan, will represent Pakistan in both the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.

Haroon is currently receiving training in America and if we are able to hold international an event in July then he would also make a debut from Pakistan in that tournament, he said.

Afridi wants Sami, Shahzaib in T20 squad

Ubaid-ur-Rehman Awan

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi said Thursday that if he was asked for the team selection, he would have suggested fast bowler Mohammad Sami and opening batsman Shahzaib Hasan

While talking exclusively to The Sports Encounter correspondent here, Shahid Khan Afridi claimed that he has strong enough team to defend the ICC World T20 title and said that he has four to five match winners who can change the course of the game single-handedly.

When asked about potential dangerous teams in the World Cup, Afridi said, “I can’t cite any particular team as good and dangerous side because all participating teams are good sides but when you ask about my team, I think a heavy responsibility mounts over the senior players including me, Misbah ul Haq, Abdul Razzaq and Mohammad Asif and we are the main players, who should play critical role because our most players are new and are playing their first World Cup”.

Afridi played down Imran Nazir’s inclusion in the squad and said he failed to impress during the domestic Twenty20 Cup in Karachi. “I had closely observed his performance even till the last match of the domestic T20 tournament against Faisalabad Wolves but he again failed to find form and runs,” Afridi said.

It is important to mention here that Imran Nazir could only manage 54 runs in the recently concluded domestic T20 tournament with an average of 13.50 runs per innings.

“I wished Mohammad Sami and Shahzaib Hasan, who performed outstandingly in the RBS T20 should have been included in the squad however the selectors automatically picked up my third likely player (Mohammad) Hafeez,” Afridi added.

Earlier, Shahid Khan Afridi has lodged an appeal against the heavy fine imposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the ball-tampering charge.

He had handed the letter to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) Wasim Bari on the eve of the Pakistan Day T20 Cup in Lahore.

“I have already handed the letter to the Wasim Bari (PCB COO), in which I have written that why I was penalised twice in one charge and appealed to waive my fine,” Afridi told.

The PCB had implemented the recommendations of an inquiry committee formed to evaluate Pakistan’s dismal performance against Australia in December and January. And for the shocking act (ball-tampering), which had brought the game and country into disrepute, Afridi was fined Rs3 million along with a warning issued by the Chairman PCB Ejaz Butt.

He is also on a six-month probation, during which his conduct will be strictly monitored. But after the detailed discussion with the concern, the PCB appointed Afridi as captain for the ICC World Twenty20, scheduled to take place in the West Indies next month.