Daily Times

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa met Pakistan boxer Muhammad Waseem on Wednesday to congratulate him for his victory over Conrado Tanamor. The Pakistan pugilist bagged a knock-out victory over his Filipino opponent in just 82 seconds in Dubai at the Rotunda Rumble on Friday night. But on his arrival back to Pakistan, he didn’t receive a hero’s welcome at the airport, which drew criticism from a lot of people, including cricket legend Wasim Akram, as the latter said that he would pick him up the next time. Thus, in an attempt to give the boxer the deserved recognition, the COAS hosted him and said, as quoted in the tweet by the DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor: “Talent like you is our pride, we are here to support youngsters like you having potential and positive energy.”

Waseem currently holds a record of nine wins from 10 fights and has seven knock-outs to his name. This was his first fight with his new management MTK Golbal, while he had to go through a period of inactivity, where he was training his best and looking for the opportunity but had issues with managers and finding sponsorships. Waseem is the most decorated boxer Pakistan has produced in the last decade, while in a video message after the fight he added that his goal is to become the world champion. “I’ve been training really hard for this fight. I knew I’ll be a world champion soon. I’ll keep on performing in future also to make my nation proud,” he said in the video. Also, the boxer dedicated his victory to the Kashmiri brothers, who facing atrocities at the hands of the India military. “I’m really happy to win this fight in first round knockout. I had already announced that after winning the bout I’ll dedicate it to my Kashmiri brethren, so I’m dedicating this win to them,” he said in a video message after the win.