Malaika Zahid, a sports enthusiast from Quetta, spent her youth climbing trees and walls, as well as playing cricket and football, but when she discovered how much her father loved boxing, she fell in love with the sport.
She then fell in love with boxing, and it was only a matter of time before she abandoned everything else except her studies. “I would watch boxing matches on my phone and see how excited Baba would get,” Malaika, now 19, tells Eos. “I would be there with him, watching the matches together.”
Seeing her passion for boxing, her father decided to take her to a boxing club. Her mother was reluctant, fearing that her daughter might break her nose or scar her face. The Atta Muhammad Club was a boys' boxing club run by Atta Muhammad Kakkar, a friend of Malaika's father. At age 9, Malaika became the only girl there throwing punches.
“There were no other girls in Balochistan who were interested in boxing except for me,” she says. “In fact, I am the first female boxer from Balochistan. So, as a child, my father would always be there while I trained at the club. He would sit there for hours and watch me train.”
19-year-old Malaika Zahid is the first female boxer from Balochistan and is already a five-time national champion. She is aiming for a very long career…
“And my poor mother would be at home praying for my safety. I got punched in the face and all over the place. But, frankly, I'm used to getting punched. It doesn't bother me. It's all part of the sport.”
Clearly, Malaika's mother does not have Malaika's indifference regarding such matters.
“Since I started training, my mother's condition has worsened and now she fasts on the days when I fight,” laughs Malaika. “But just like Baba, she still wholeheartedly supports me and wants me to pursue my dreams,” adds the five-time national women's boxing champion.
“My parents' support has made me strong. Earlier, when other girls used to stare at me and comment about my boxing, Baba used to tell me not to pay attention to them. Now, I don't mind when people stare at me or try to talk about me. Their comments don't matter. I am. Nothing can stop me from becoming a top female boxer in the country and in the world,” she says.
Malaika was a keen sportsperson and when her long hair started to get in the way of her sport, she cut it short. “Baba supported me there too,” she says.
Of Muhammad Zahid's three daughters and one son, Malaika is the only one who has taken up boxing. “Both my sisters are younger than me and are not interested in sports,” she says. “My brother is a year older than me. He used to join me at the boxing club sometimes but he soon lost interest in sports. He now prefers trains and studying much more.”
“In fact, I have inherited this hobby from my father, Baba, who works in the Railway Police,” she said, adding that her love for boxing did not make her give up her studies.
“Education is one of the things our parents have always emphasized. I just finished my first year of pre-engineering,” she says.
Meanwhile, her list of accolades in boxing continues to grow, including National Gold Medalist (several times), Provincial Gold Medalist (twice), All Balochistan Gold Medalist (six times), Millennium Best Child Award (three times), FC Operational Excellence Award, other Excellence Awards, Youth Award, Best Female Athlete Award and many more.
Malaika's boxing has also earned her a contract with the Pakistan Army: “I am very proud to represent the Army. The Army has a good sports wing. Earlier I was too young to get a permanent job in the Army but now I am 19 and I hope to become permanent, which will then earn me an army uniform,” she says proudly.
She is also happy to represent Balochistan in the annual national boxing championships, where she is a five-time national champion. “I have remained unbeaten for the last five years in the flyweight division,” she said, adding that she has only represented Pakistan once in an international tournament so far – at the 2022 Asian Youth and Boxing Championships in Jordan, where she lost in the quarterfinals.
“If we had reached the semi-finals, we would have won the bronze medal for Pakistan,” she said.
When asked if she has to wear shorts and vests when competing abroad, Malaika says there are no restrictions as far as sports equipment is concerned. “Muslim girls are allowed to wear tights under their shorts and we are allowed to wear an undershirt under our vest. Gloves and head guards are worn by all of us, that's why we all look like boxers,” she laughs.
Malaika says she doesn't have any particular female boxer she looks up to as she has beaten all the women boxers in the country, including the Hazara women of Balochistan and the Lyari women of Karachi, but she is a fan of Pakistan's Mohammed Waseem.
“Before people say I'm biased because he's also from Quetta, where I live, I will say that I love his fast style in the ring,” she says.
“My family may have settled in Quetta because my paternal grandfather was posted here, but we are originally from Azad Kashmir. We still stay with our relatives during holidays,” she says.
Her international boxing favourites include American professional boxers Ryan Garcia and Gervonta “Tank” Davis, who “recently converted to Islam,” she tells me.
Asked about her future, she looks dreamy: “There's a lot to do. I'd like to turn professional one day, but before that there are the Olympics, the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games…”
The writer is a member of staff. X: @HasanShazia
Published in Dawn, EOS, June 23, 2024
