Pakistani boxer Zohaib Rasheed has caused a national embarrassment by vanishing in Italy after stealing money from a teammate's bag during an Olympic qualifying tournament.
Pakistani boxer, Zohaib Rasheed, has created a disgraceful situation for his country by disappearing in Italy after pilfering money from a teammate's bag, as revealed by the Pakistan Amateur Boxing Federation on Tuesday. Rasheed was in Italy to participate in an Olympic qualifying tournament, and the federation has reported the incident to the Pakistan Embassy and filed a police report.
Colonel Nasir Ahmed, the secretary of the national federation, expressed deep embarrassment, stating, "It is most embarrassing for the federation and the country the way Zohaib Rasheed has behaved as he had gone there as part of a five-member squad to take part in an Olympic qualifying tournament." Rasheed, who had previously won a bronze medal in the Asian Boxing Championships, was considered a promising talent in Pakistan.
Nasir recounted that Rasheed took advantage of a moment when a female boxer, Laura Ikram, was out for training. Rasheed, using the room keys obtained from the front desk, stole foreign currency from Ikram's purse before vanishing from the hotel. The police have been notified, and efforts are underway to locate him, although Rasheed is currently out of contact with anyone.
This incident adds to a history of Pakistani athletes going abroad with national squads and choosing to disappear in pursuit of a presumably better future.