LAHORE: Team Pakistan made its presence felt at the Asian MMA Championship 2024 as two of their fighters Eman Khan and Bano Butt secured a gold medal each in respective categories.
Bano, who outclassed India’s Khushboo Nishad via a knockout in the semi-final on Wednesday, continued her impressive run in the event.
She clinched the first gold medal for Team Pakistan by defeating Kazakhstan’s Gulnaz Abdrakhmanova in the senior women’s Atomweight category.
Team Pakistan soon got their hands on another gold medal when Eman Khan humbled Kazakhstan’s Dinara Ayapova in the first round via a rear-neck choke.
“I worked hard for more than three years for this event,” said Eman after clinching the Asian MMA Championship gold medal for Team Pakistan.
Eman also congratulated her compatriot Bano Butt on emulating the same feat before expressing her desire to witness Pakistan excel in MMA as well as in other sports.
Meanwhile, Bushra Ahmed, who earned direct qualification into the final round on technical grounds, came up short against Kazakhstan’s Adel Makhametova and thus, had to settle for a silver medal.
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In the men’s category, all three of Team Pakistan’s fighters suffered defeats.
Zeeshan Akbar glimmered a ray of hope for a third gold medal for Team Pakistan as he fought Krghyzstan’s fighter for three rounds but failed to pull off the victory.
On the other hand, Shahab Ali lost to Kazakhstan’s Neimat Assadov in the senior men’s Lightweight category while Abdul Manan suffered defeat in the final of the junior men’s flyweight category.
All in all, Team Pakistan bagged six medals, two golds and four silvers.
Team Kazakhstan and Team Tajikistan topped the medals chart of the Asian MMA Championship with seven gold medals each, followed by Team Bahrain with three, while Team Pakistan and Team Kyrgyzstan clinched two each.
The Asian Championship of MMA was held in Pakistan for the first time, while Brave Combat Federation marked its return to Pakistan after a six-year gap.
This Asian MMA Championship, scheduled from 18th to 22nd August 2024, was broadcast live on Pakistan’s first HD sports channel, A Sports, and simultaneously streamed on ARY ZAP.
A total of 12 countries participated in the Asian Championship, featuring more than 180 fighters, 120 officials, and 120 technical staff.
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