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