Pakistan’s Maliha Ali has won a bronze medal at the IMMAF World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, fighting through a fractured toe, a bruised eyelid and a partially dislocated jaw. The 24-year-old from Hunza lost her featherweight semi-final to Russia’s Polina Baldina on a split decision on Thursday, 5 November, and the Pakistan MMA Federation has formally appealed against the judges’ verdict.
The medal caps a remarkable week for the young fighter, who had already become one of Pakistan’s most-searched names after stunning a two-time European champion earlier in the tournament. It is a first world championship medal for Maliha, and it comes with a formal challenge to the result that denied her a place in the final.
A semi-final decided by the narrowest of margins
Maliha met Baldina, a former world champion, in the women’s featherweight semi-final at 65.8kg. After three hard rounds, the judges could not agree. One scored the bout 30-27 for Baldina, a second gave it 29-28 to Maliha, and the third awarded it 29-28 to the Russian. Two cards to one: Baldina advanced to the final, and Maliha took bronze.
In amateur MMA, both losing semi-finalists receive a bronze medal, so the defeat did not leave Maliha empty-handed. But the closeness of the scorecards, with one judge seeing the fight clearly in her favour and another scoring it heavily against her, is exactly what has fuelled Pakistan’s complaint.
Fighting through injury to reach the podium
What makes the medal extraordinary is the condition Maliha fought in. She competed through the championship carrying a fractured toe, a bruised eyelid and a partially dislocated jaw, injuries that would have forced most fighters out of the tournament.
Instead, she kept winning. The injuries were sustained during her bouts in Tbilisi, yet she fought on through the quarter-final and into the semi-final, refusing to withdraw. For a fighter from a country where MMA barely existed a decade ago, reaching a world championship podium while injured is a measure of how far she, and the sport in Pakistan, have come.
The road to the bronze medal
Maliha’s run in Tbilisi began with a statement win. On Tuesday, 3 November, she beat Russia’s Veronika Drozdova, a two-time European champion, by split decision, a result that put her name at the top of Pakistan’s trending searches the next day.
She followed it by beating Mexico’s Andrea Gabriela Guzman Salazar by unanimous decision in the quarter-final, a far more comfortable verdict that carried her into the last four. There, Baldina ended her run, but only by the split decision that Pakistan is now challenging. The championships, the biggest event in amateur MMA, ran from 1 to 7 November in the Georgian capital.
Pakistan appeals the judges’ decision
The Pakistan MMA Federation has submitted a formal appeal to the head of the IMMAF Refereeing and Judging Commission. It is asking for a round-by-round breakdown of how the judges scored the semi-final, an explanation for the wide gap between the three scorecards, and a face-to-face technical review of the contest.
Federation president Omar Ahmed described the decision as unfair and said Maliha had done enough to win the semi-final. He also pointed out that Pakistan suffered a similar split-decision defeat in the semi-finals of last year’s championship, raising questions about consistency in the judging.
The appeal remains pending, and supporters should be clear about what it can achieve: a scoring review can explain the judges’ cards, but it does not by itself overturn a result. Baldina remains the winner of the bout unless the review changes the record. Whatever the outcome, Maliha’s bronze medal stands.
Twin sisters, one sporting story
Maliha’s story is inseparable from her twin sister’s. Manesha Ali, also spelled Manisha in some reports, also represented Pakistan in Tbilisi, losing her lightweight quarter-final to Poland’s Martyna Karuk on a split decision.
Manesha had already made her own history earlier this year, winning gold at the IMMAF World Cup in Angola in September after submitting the host nation’s Leonela Isabel Blaiye in the second round of the final in Luanda. Two sisters, two medals in the same season, one family rewriting Pakistan’s sporting story.
The twins’ journey began in the mountain valleys of Hunza, where they started in Taekwondo before spending around ten years in Wushu and then switching to mixed martial arts. Today they train at Brave Gym in Lahore, one of Pakistan’s leading high-performance fight teams.
What the bronze means for Pakistan MMA
The medal matters beyond one fighter. Pakistan’s team in Tbilisi was among the least-resourced at the event, while Russia sent more than 60 athletes backed by government funding. Against that gap, a bronze won while injured, and a semi-final that one judge scored for the Pakistani, shows how competitive the country’s fighters have become at world level.
For Maliha, the next steps are recovery from her injuries and the outcome of the federation’s appeal. For Pakistan MMA, the bronze is another marker on a steady climb: from plucky underdogs to genuine contenders, with a world championship medal now to show for it.
Related Posts
SportsUsman Khawaja: “It Was All of Us” — Sandpaper Scandal Bombshell
SportsWasim Akram Turns Down Afghanistan Premier League Mentor Role, Backs PCB Stance
SportsPakistan vs Sri Lanka Test Tickets on Sale Today from Rs 200
SportsCristiano Ronaldo Retires From International Football: Portugal Legend Ends 23-Year Career With Record 234 Caps and 146 Goals
SportsArafat Minhas Nominated for ICC Men’s Player of the Month After Tri-Series Heroics
SportsPCB Demands $10,000 Per Player for Abu Dhabi T10 NOCs — 16 Pakistan Stars May Miss the TournamentMost Popular
How-ToPTA Tax Calculator 2026: Check Mobile Tax on Any Phone417 views
Pakistan NewsPIA Boeing 787 Lease Deal: What It Means for the Airline389 views
Canada JobsTech Jobs in Canada: Roles, Salaries, and Skills Needed387 views
SportsUEFA Champions League 2026-27: Format, Teams and Schedule384 views
TechnologyPM Shehbaz Sets November Deadline for Alibaba AI and Digitalisation Projects in Pakistan364 views
ShowbizWomen’s Fashion in Pakistan 2026: Trends, Brands and Style Guide360 views
