Pakistan’s Commonwealth Games campaign has been marred by the incident of teenager boxer Qadratullah apparently disappearing from the team hotel in Glasgow hours before the Pakistani side was to be flown back home on Monday.
Qadratullah was knocked out in the pre-quarter-finals by the eventual gold medal winner of the men’s 60kg freestyle.
It was revealed when the team was checking out the players’ list for their flight to the airport that he was missing.
Officials with the Pakistan boxing team went to Qadratullah’s room to make sure all athletes were set for the trip and they found that he was not there.
The boxer’s bag and gear were found in the room, but he was not seen after thorough searches prior to departure for the airport.
The incident has caused worry in Pakistan’s officials, who have reported the incident to the relevant authorities and asked for help from the Pakistan Consulate in Glasgow.
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They hope the missing athlete will be found thanks to the help of local authorities and diplomats soon, officials said.
The missing athlete has overshadowed Pakistan’s participation in the 23rd Commonwealth Games and left everyone worried about the possibility of athletes going missing.
There have been similar cases in the last few years involving a boxer called Zohaib who vanished during an international tour to Italy, and another member of the national boxing squad during a previous overseas assignment.
President of Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) Col (R) Nasir Tung confirmed the incident, calling it “very unfortunate.”
He said he and others had been disappointed by such things happening after a great investment of resources in developing an athlete.
The federation may increase monitoring at international events in the future, and could refuse to support athletes who are deemed to be a risk, Tung said.
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