Amir Masood to feature in Asian Boxing Championships 2019
Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) has decided to field Amir Masood in the 2019 Asian Boxing Championships which are scheduled to be held from 17 to 28 April in Bangkok.
According to the information provided by the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) Secretary Col (Retd) Nasir Tung the federation have decided to send Amir Masood as their only hope to make our nation proud as financial issues are yet to be solved for other participants to feature in the several international events.
“Yes, we have opted for a token participation and are going to field only Amir Masood, we wanted to field five or six boys in the event but we do not have enough money and so we can not go with a solid squad,” Nasir said.
2019 Asian Boxing Championships for men and for women would both be held at the same time, in what will be a huge event in Bangkok, with both championships starting on April 16th and ending on April 27th at the Huamark Indoor Stadium.
This event serves as a major qualifying event for the 2020 Olympics. The Asian Boxing Championships will be held simultaneously for men and women for the first time since its inception in 1963 in Bangkok.
The Women's Asian Championships will be held in ten weight classes and the competitions will be held in Bangkok, Thailand at the Huamark Indoor Stadium.
Amir Masood from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be making his international debut in the upcoming championship. He has won a silver medal in the last National Championship in the 64 Kilogram weight category. He was beaten by Army's Suleman Baloch in the final. The PBF decided upon Amir to feature in the said international championship because Suleman has fitness issues.
Amir will be sponsored by the KP Boxing Association and the Secretary of KP Boxing Association, Syed Kamal Khan will accompany him as his manager. “Amir is a young boxer and will be making his international debut in Bangkok. He has grown over the years by fighting very well against the seasoned boxers. Giving him a chance will help us judge how he could be productive for the country in future,” Nasir Tung said.
Pakistan is to appear in qualifiers for 2020 Olympics and the South Asian Games which are to be held in Nepal from 1st to 10th December to which Nasir said that they had submitted the plan with the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) regarding preparation for Olympics but had received no response.
The last time Pakistan boxers featured in Olympics was way back in 2004 Athens Games. Since then only one boxer has been able to reach the quarter-finals of the Asian Qualifying round.
