Pakistani boxer steals money from teammate's bag, disappears

Karachi: A Pakistani boxer has disappeared in Italy after stealing money from a teammate's bag, the Pakistan Amateur Boxing Federation said on Tuesday.

Zohaib Rasheed has gone to Italy to take part in an Olympic qualifying tournament.

A senior official of the federation said they had brought it to the notice of the Pakistan Embassy in Italy and also filed a police report about the incident.

"It is most embarrassing for the federation and 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," the national federation's secretary, Colonel Nasir Ahmed said.

Zohaib had won a bronze medal in last year's Asian Boxing Championships and was regarded as a rising talent in Pakistan.

Nasir said that a female boxer Laura Ikram had gone out for training and Zohaib took her room keys from the front desk and stole her foreign currency from a purse before disappearing from the hotel.

"The police have been informed and they are now searching for him but he is not in contact with anyone," Nasir said.

This is not the first time a Pakistani athlete has gone abroad with a national squad and slipped away in hope of a better future.