Maliha Ali wins bronze at IMMAF MMA World Championships in Tbilisi
Pakistan's Maliha Ali won bronze at the IMMAF World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia. She lost her featherweight semi-final to Russia's Polina Baldina on a split decision, which the Pakistan MMA Federation has formally challenged.
- Maliha Ali won bronze at the IMMAF World Championships in Tbilisi.
- She lost the featherweight semi-final to Polina Baldina by split decision on Thursday.
- The Pakistan MMA Federation has appealed the result to the IMMAF Refereeing and Judging Commission.
Pakistan's Maliha Ali won a bronze medal at the IMMAF World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia. Her campaign ended on Thursday when she lost the featherweight semi-final to Russia's Polina Baldina by split decision.
According to The Express Tribune, the judges' scorecards in the semi-final were 30-27, 28-29 and 28-29. Minute Mirror reported that one judge scored the fight 30-27 for Baldina, while the other two scored 29-28 in favour of different fighters. The reports differ on the exact scores. Baldina is a former world champion.
Maliha reached the last four with two wins. She beat Russia's Veronika Drozdova, a two-time European champion, by split decision, and then won a unanimous decision over Mexico's Andrea Gabriela Guzman Salazar.
She competed through the tournament with a fractured toe, a bruised eyelid and a partially dislocated jaw, according to both reports.
The Pakistan MMA Federation challenged the semi-final result, saying the judges' scoring was inconsistent and unfair. Federation president Omar Ahmed raised concerns over judging consistency and confirmed that a formal appeal was submitted to the IMMAF Refereeing and Judging Commission.
The appeal asks for a round-by-round breakdown of the scores, an explanation for the differing assessments and a technical review of the bout. It remains pending. Pakistan also lost a semi-final by split decision at last year's championships.
Maliha's twin sister Manesha Ali lost a narrow split-decision bout to Poland's Martyna Caruk in the lightweight quarter-finals. Earlier this year, Manesha won gold at the IMMAF World Cup in Angola. Maliha returns home with the bronze medal.
Background
khabr.pk reported on 6 November that Maliha Ali won bronze after a split-decision semi-final loss to Polina Baldina, and that the Pakistan MMA Federation had appealed the result.
Why it matters
A world championship medal in a combat sport is a notable result for Pakistani sport. The federation's appeal may bring clarity on how the bout was scored, and the outcome is of interest to followers of Pakistani athletes abroad.
