Khoushleem Bano, Rukhsana Perveen and Sofia Javed are making history by becoming the first ever female boxers to represent Pakistan in any international event.
The three boxers were the most notable picks as the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) named its men’s and women’s boxing squads for the upcoming South Asian Games on Wednesday.
Khoushleem, Rukhsana and Sofia will feature in the 51, 60 and 75kg categories and were selected after a nationwide scouting program.
Team manager Iqbal Hussain, while talking to Dawn, said that the PBF decided to promote the boxers after a conference of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) in which the global body pushed for the representation of the female fighters.
“Since then we have been preparing our women’s boxing prospects and the South Asian Games will be the start of a new chapter in Pakistan’s history,” said Hussain.
The boxers have been representing different clubs, notably from Lahore and Peshawar, and were identified and included in training camps set up by the PBF.
“This is just a start and we obviously cannot expect them to win medals right away, but our main aim is to perform well in the Women’s World Boxing Championships in May,” said the Pakistan manager.
In the men’s category Mohibullah, Syed Muhammad Asif, Niamathullah, Gul Zaib, Arshad Hussain and Tanveer Ahmed were named on the Pakistan squad.
The coaching team is lead by Ali Bux with Mohammad Tariq Gujjar as his assistant.
The regional Games of the Olympic Council of Asia kick off on February 5 in the Indian city of Guwahati.
