She reaches the last four before losing to Russia’s Polina Baldina on a split decision
Maliha Ali at the IMMAF World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia. —Photo courtesy PAKMMA Federation
Pakistan’s Maliha Ali won bronze at the IMMAF World Championships despite competing with multiple injuries, as the Pakistan MMA Federation appealed her split-decision defeat to Russia’s Polina Baldina in the featherweight semi-finals on Thursday.
Maliha, who fought with a fractured toe, bruised eyelid and partially dislocated jaw, lost to Baldina, a former world champion, after judges returned contrasting scorecards of 30-27, 28-29 and 28-29.
The Pakistani fighter had defeated two-time European champion Veronika Drozdova of Russia by split decision before securing a unanimous victory over Mexico’s Andrea Gabriela Guzman Salazar to reach the last four.
The federation has formally challenged the semi-final result, requesting a round-by-round scoring breakdown and a technical review of the bout.
Pakistan MMA Federation president Omar Ahmed also raised concerns over judging consistency, noting that Pakistan had suffered another semi-final defeat by split decision at last year’s championships.
Maliha’s twin sister Manesha, a gold medallist at the IMMAF World Cup in Angola earlier this year, also suffered a narrow split-decision defeat in the lightweight quarter-finals to Poland’s Martyna Caruk.