Pakistan boxer Qudratullah goes missing from CWG hotel in Glasgow, passport still with team manager

The Pakistan Boxing Federation is once again facing uncomfortable questions after one of its own boxers went missing from the team's hotel in Glasgow, just as the Commonwealth Games drew to a close. And the twist that's raising the most eyebrows? His passport never left the team manager's custody.

Boxer vanishes right after his bout

According to a source close to the Pakistan Olympic Association, boxer Qudratullah disappeared from the contingent's hotel shortly after competing in his weight category at the Games. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity on Tuesday, flagged the passport detail as particularly puzzling, noting that Qudratullah managed to slip away even though his travel documents were still being held securely by the team management — which is standard practice for the contingent precisely to prevent such incidents.

A troubling pattern, not a one-off

This isn't an isolated case for Pakistani boxing. The federation has repeatedly found itself in similar controversies at major international tournaments over the years, with athletes going off the grid in foreign countries on more than one occasion.

The most recent precedent came at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where two Pakistani boxers, Suleman Baloch and Nazeerullah Khan, both went missing from their contingent — again, reportedly, with their passports still in the possession of the team's contingent head at the time.

An even more serious incident unfolded in 2024, when Pakistan's Asian gold medal-winning boxer Zohaib Rasheed disappeared during the World Olympic Qualifiers held in Busto Arsizio, Italy. In that case, Rasheed didn't just go missing — he allegedly made off with foreign currency and valuables belonging to his roommate before vanishing from the town.

Games end on a modest note for Pakistan

The disappearance adds another layer of embarrassment to what was already a fairly underwhelming outing for Pakistan at these Commonwealth Games. The country's 36-member contingent returned home from Glasgow with just a single medal to show for the entire campaign — a bronze, won by female boxer Fatima Zehra, who emerged as one of the few bright spots for the squad at the tournament.

Why this keeps happening

Cases like these have become something of a recurring headache for Pakistani sporting federations, particularly in combat and individual sports where athletes travel with smaller support staff and looser day-to-day supervision compared to larger team sports. Passports being retained by team officials is typically meant to act as a safeguard against precisely this kind of disappearance, yet the pattern suggests that determined athletes are finding ways around the system regardless.