Daily Times

LAHORE: Lahore won the Punjab Open Inter-Division Boxing Championship bagging 16 gold medals at the Nishtar Park Sports Complex Gymnasium here on Tuesday. Faisalabad with three gold medals and DG Khan with two golds finished runners-up and third respectively. In the women’s competitions, Lahore’s Rabia Basri, Tahira Warsi and Arzoo Ashraf clinched gold medals in 45kg, 60kg and 75kg weight categories respectively. Rabia outplayed Rawalpindi’s Roma Yousaf in the final. The bronze medals went to Sania and Laiba Shafiq of Lahore. Tahira also downed Rawalpindi’s Iqra Khan comfortably. Arzoo won the third gold medal for Lahore when she defeated Sana Bibi of Faisalabad after a tough fight. Gujranwala`s Savera also wrote her name among the title winners when she pulverised Sumeera Ali of Faisalabad in the final bout of the 48kg weight category. Zumera Hussain of Faisalabad emerged winner in the 57kg gold medal fight against Isma Younis of R awalpindi. Lahore boxers also dominated the proceedings in the Boys` Youth class winning five titles in different weight categories.

Lahore’s Hamza Sakandar won gold in the 32kg title fight against Multan’s Ali Raza while bronze Ihtasham and Sibghatullah took bronze. Zain Rafiq of Lahore dethroned Sadat Hussain of Faisalabad in the 45kg category’s final match. Hashim and Haman Haider won bronze in this category. Lahore’s three more boxers Ibrar Ahmed (52kg), Mudassir Khan (60kg) and Yousaf Ali Butt (64kg) defeated M Arsalan, M Suleman and Faisal Shafiq in their respective title bouts. Adeel of Gujranwala (36kg), M Talha of Faisalabad (40kg) and Shah Ahmed from DG Khan (49kg) were also among the successful boxers when they toppled their opponents in their respective weight category final matches.

In the men’s elite class competitions, eight boxers from Lahore won the title bouts in their respective weight categories. M Shoaib beat Naseebullah from Multan in their 60kg bout while Zia-ur-Rehman was triumphant in his 64kg encounter against M. Kashif of Faisalabad. Asad Munir Bhatti beat Sajid Ali, also from Multan in the 64kg category bout. In other bouts, Lahore’s Saeed Ali downed Waheed of Sargodha in the 81kg category while in the 91kg category, Zulgarnain, also from Lahore beat Gujaranwala’s Adil Butt. In the same category, Lahore’s Hafeezullah Hamza beat Sahiwal`s Sheraz Jaffar. In the 49kg category DG Khan`s Usama Tariq won his bout against Khawar Qayyum of Rawalpindi.

Published in Daily Times, May 17^th 2018.