IN A first for the city, brother-sister duo of Shaqib Pathan and Alfiya Pathan will be participating in the 9th Elite Men’s & Women’s National Boxing Championships to be held at Gautam Buddha University in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The week-long tournament that starts on January 4, will mark a historic first combined men’s and women’s event for Indian boxing and will serve as a key talent identifier for the Olympic cycle. While Shaqib will be representing Maharashtra, Alfiya will play for Railways.

 

Shaqib won a gold medal in the Maharashtra State Boxing Championship that was held at Bhadrawati in Chandrapur district. In the 85 to 90 kg final, the city boxer knocked out Akola Krida Prabodhini’s pugilist. Alfiya bagged gold in the All India Railways Boxing Championship that was hosted at Guwahati in Assam. Shaqib, who trains under Dr Satish Chandra Bhat at Akola Krida Prabodhini, is pursuing MPT from Lovely Professional University (LPU), Jalandhar, Punjab after completing his Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT).

 

Alfiya, who took to the gloves sport after watching his brother excel in the ring, now trains in New Delhi with her Railways team-mates. In their budding years, both of them were coached by city’s reputed boxing coach Ganesh Purohit.