Top boxers getting a mere hundred rupees a day

Pakistan’s top boxers survive on the meager salaries they receive from their departments as they are not given additional incentives either by Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) or Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) when they are in the national camp.

A boxer earns merely Rs 36,000 in a year through daily allowance when they are in the camp as the PSB gives every boxer only Rs 100 per day when they are in the national camp.

The PBF does not give a penny to the pugilists who are set to feature in the Olympic qualifiers in China and Baku in March and June, respectively.

National boxers have spent the last one year in the camp but this did not bring any respite to their families as they earned nothing extra which could have supplemented their insufficient salaries they get from their departments.

“We get just Rs 100 daily allowance. We don’t even get travelling expenses from the authorities. We have to spend from our own pocket when we come to join the camp or go back home,” a top Pakistani boxer told ‘The News’ on Monday.

“Look, the top Indian boxers have two or three sponsors. They have their professional league and live happily while we survive on salaries of Rs 20,000 or Rs 25,000 we receive from our departments,” the boxer said.

The story of another boxer, who is highly talented, is even more pathetic. “I get Rs 25,000 from my department. I have to meet the expenses of my whole family which has eight members. From the same salary I also pay my house rent of Rs5000 and utility bills. How can I focus on my boxing in such conditions!” the boxer said.

Another boxer said that there were sponsors in Pakistan but there was no one who could contact and convince them to support the boxers. All the boxers who interacted with this correspondent suggested that only a professional league could resolve their financial problems.

In spite of all these handicaps, they were optimistic about their chances of clicking in the Olympic qualifiers.

They said that they had learnt a lot from the South Asian Games and they would try to overcome their flaws and perform much better in the events ahead.

The Asian qualifying round will be hosted by China in Qian’an from March 23 to April 3. The world qualifying round will be held in Baku from June 7-19.

In the South Asian Games, four Pakistani boxers, Mohibullah, Mohammad Asif, Ali Ahmed and Tanveer Ahmed, won silver medals. This was the first time in the history of the biennial event that Pakistan failed to win any gold medal in boxing.

India sent boxers to England for one month training, so they won all the seven gold medals at stake. Three heavyweights had not been included in the list of weights for the South Asian Games.

The PBF wanted to resume the camp for the qualifiers here at the PSB Coaching Centre from Monday, but the administration of the coaching centre had not received any letter from the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) about the camp.

“We wanted to start training today but the gymnasium was full of dust,” a source close to the matter said.

Only three boxers came for the camp. The rest are scheduled to reach the port city in the next two days. It is expected that Pakistan will field nine boxers in the qualifiers, skipping the super heavyweight in which the country does not have any experienced boxer.

“We have Shehbaz in the super heavyweight but he has not even played in the national championship,” a coach said.  Cuban coach Comas Aguilera Bernardo whom Pakistan hired recently is expected to arrive next week.

His handling of the squad ahead of the Asian qualifying round may affect the performance of the boxers who have adapted to the ways of the local coaches.

“Yes, it would be difficult for us to adjust with the Cuban coach in such a short time. If he comes, it’s fine but he should not handle the team as head coach at least for the Asian qualifying round,” a boxer said.

Last year Pakistan fielded boxers in the Asian Championship in Bangkok. From there Mehmood-ul-Hasan qualified for the World Championships in Doha in October. But the talented heavyweight boxer failed in the first round. The World Championships served as qualifiers for Rio Olympics.

(Source: The News)