Pakistan boxing ends on a frustrating note as Fatima Zehra bows out

Pakistan ended their boxing journey on a frustrating note when their last boxer and a slim hope Fatima Zehra also went down in her preliminary bout at the 20th Asian Games on Saturday. Zehra was beaten 5-0 by Tajikistan’s Mijgona Samadova in the women’s 60kg round of 16 at Nishio Gymnasium, bringing Pakistan’s boxing campaign to an end without a medal. Samadova dominated the three-round contest, winning all five judges’ scorecards by margins of 30-25, 30-24, 30-26, 30-25 and 30-24.

Zehra, who had won bronze in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games recently, struggled to match the Tajik boxer’s pace and pressure, with Samadova establishing a clear advantage from the opening round. The Pakistani was also knocked down once during the bout, according to the official scoring record. Earlier South Korea's Kim Gichae knocked out Pakistan debutant Irfan Khan in the men's 90kg.

Kim won the round-of-16 bout at Nishio Gymnasium when the referee stopped the contest in the second round. Irfan, making his debut at the event, was knocked down twice before the contest was halted. The judges scored the opening round in Kim's favour, with four judges giving the South Korean a 10-9 advantage and one scoring it 10-8.

Kim also scored an additional knockdown in the second round before the stoppage. Pakistan coach Tariq Sidiqui was happy despite Irfan’s loss. “To be honest Irfan boxed extremely well.

His opponent got tired but in the second round a long swinging punch hit him on his chin and he fell,” Tariq said. “It was the first international fight from Irfan but he has shown his guts. He can turn out to be a very good boxer as he is bold and don’t afraid.

The Korean had got tired in the second round,” said Tariq. Maria Rind and Sumama Rehman were the other boxers who faced first round exits. South Korea's Kim Gichae knocked out Pakistan debutant Irfan Khan in the men's 90kg boxing competitions of the 20th Asian Games.