KARACHI: The Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) has announced the first-ever National Boxing Championship for Women in January next year. A statement from the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) stated that the first National Women’s Boxing Championship will be held on the sidelines of the 36th Men’s National Boxing Championship in Lahore. “Competition (in women category) shall be held in 3 weight categories – 48-51kg, 57-60kg and 69-75kg,” said Muhammad Nasir Ijaz Tung, general secretary of the PBF, in the statement on Thursday. “Only Provincial Boxing Associations including Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, Islamabad, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, FATA and Gilgit Baltistan are eligible to participate in the Women’s Championship. Each unit can enter only one boxer in each weight category,” the statement added. The announcement will, surely, give a boost to women’s boxing in Pakistan which is still in its early stages and starving to get recognition. Three female boxers from Pakistan created history last year when they participated in South Asian Games. The boxers – Khoushleem, Rukhsana and Sofia – were picked through scouting programmes by the PBF. The PBF secretary added that the Pakistan Boxing Federation was following International Olympic Council’s (IOC) agenda of gender equality and trying to bring women boxing in limelight before 2020. “The IOC has also advised all national federations to maximize women participation in all sports and we are following that guideline. We are hoping for good numbers of participation in first National Championship of Women boxing,” he concluded. Published in Daily Times, December 1st 2017.