NEW DELHI Pakistan had double success in the Commonwealth Games boxing event here on Saturday when young Haroon Khan and talented Waseem Ahmed outpointed their opponents in the quarter-final contests to bag berths in the semis.
Haroon, thrilled with his performance on Saturday, said he owed his flyweight semi-final spot to his older brother Amir, Britain's WBA light welterweight champion.
“He tweeted and it's great the support he's given me,” Haroon said after his victory over Andrew Selby of Wales. “He (Amir) said 'don't rush in, pace yourself, this is a big thing for you'. I took his advice and it worked. The Indian crowd was unbelievable. I knew when they cheered it was a point for me. It did take a lot of pressure off me.”
The 19-year-old British-born fighter, who chose to represent Pakistan after claiming he had been snubbed by the English boxing authorities, will now clash with Indian Suranjoy Mayengbam who beat Malaysian Mohd Subrie 9-2.
“My job was to come here and prove them (selectors) wrong and I have done that. My aim was to get a medal,” said the teenager, listed as Haroon Iqbal rather than Haroon Khan. “I have seen him (Mayengbam) box before and it's going to be tough. He is strong and has got great stamina.”
Pakistan had more success in the boxing event when talented pugilist Muhammad Waseem beat Dunde Micah of Ghana by 4-2 to reach semis in style.
Waseem, who has been a prolific boxer for his country with three international medals before the Games including a silver at South Asian Games in Dhaka last year, said he would now aim for the gold.
“I am not content with just a bronze medal. My aim is the gold medal,” said the Pakistani boxer. “I was very aggressive in the first two rounds. He was very tough and if my technique was not good, I would have lost the match.”
Pakistan's third boxer Nisar Khan is scheduled to have his quarterfinal bout today against Harding Keiran of Wales. —Agencies
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