Pakistan beats India win Tassadum Boxing Series

Lahore, May 22: Olympian Diwakar Prasad proved to be no match for Pakistan's Commonwealth Games silver medallist Meherullah Lassi and was beaten 15-30 in the last bout as India lost the inaugural Tassadum Boxing Series to the hosts in Karachi.

The three-day series ended yesterday with the Indians losing the tournament 1-2. In the second bout Jai Bhagwan had gone down to Pakistan captain Asghar Ali Shah in the lightweight category.

The solitary match for the Indians was won by skipper Parwinder Singh, who beat Nadir Khan in the opening bout of the series.

''The pressure had been on us since the first day's loss,'' the winning Pakistan team captain said after the triumph.

''But I had a lot of faith in Mehrullah because he is such a great boxer. Today, he once again gave a proof of that with a high-calibre performance,'' he added.

A disappointed Indian captain, applauded the Pakistani effort but said he had not expected a lose in the series.

''I was expecting my boxers to click after we went up 1-0 on the opening day. They fought well in the two fights but the Pakistani boxers did better,'' Parwinder said.

Despite the loss, the Indians said they thoroughly enjoyed the trip and looked forward to more such exposure.

''We were not expecting the sort of reception our team received in Pakistan,'' Parwinder told 'The News'.

''We made a lot of friends here in spite of a short stay and expect to continue coming to Pakistan in the future,'' he added.

His Pakistani counterpart echoed the sentiment and said, ''The series was a lot of fun and all of us are hoping to make a return visit to India soon.''

UNI