The Nelson Mandela Cup International Boxing Competition was held in South Africa. Bangladeshi expatriate boxer Zeenat Ferdous won gold there last Tuesday. In the 50 kg weight category, she defeated the Ethiopian competitor in the final.
Zeenat was in the Bangladesh boxing team at the Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China last September. After getting a ‘bye’ in the first round, she lost in the second round against a competitor from Mongolia. Zeenat, who regularly participated in US state level boxing, wanted to play for Bangladesh in the Asian Games. Bangladesh Boxing Federation and BOA gave him that opportunity.
General Secretary of Bangladesh Boxing Federation Mazharul Islam said, “Zinat played in this competition as a Bangladeshi competitor.”
This year, the eyes of the Olympic Games in Paris. He will play for Bangladesh in the Olympic boxing selection to be held in Thailand next month. Army boxer Salim Hussain, who came close to a medal in Hangzhou Asiad, will also participate in Thailand. Two more boxers will go to Thailand. They are Abu Talha and Hussain Ali who participated with Salim and Zeenat in Asiad. Both the latter are army boxers.
Meanwhile, the Boxing Federation has asked for a wild card for Salim Hussain to participate in the Paris Olympics. The general secretary of the federation said, “We have applied for a wild card for Selim. He will also fight to qualify in Thailand. It is very good if you can qualify, otherwise there is a chance of wild card. Zeenat and Talha will also fight for direct qualification. This time we are also taking another army boxer Hossain Ali.
At the Hangzhou Asian Games, Salim Hussain defeated competitors from Sri Lanka and Tajikistan to enter the medal fight in the 57 kg weight category. He lost by one point in each of the three rounds against strong Japanese opposition.
