Grandmaster Ashraf Tai admits to match-fixing

Pakistani martial artist claims he received $500,000 to lose fight

Pakistan’s premier martial arts expert Ashraf Tai has admitted his involvement in match-fixing after more than three decades.

According to media reports, Tai confessed that he received $500,000 in 1983 in a fight against Germany’s Howard Jackson, allowing the latter to claim victory in the tie.



Nevertheless, the former martial artist, who received Pride of Performance award twice, said that the fixing was neither during a title fight, nor was the match fought under the national flag.

It went from bad to worse as after the initial reports Tai’s wife also spoke to a local TV channel and claimed that the maestro took advantage of his female students and blackmailed them. She further added that Tai is a drug addict who narrowly escaped death a few years ago due to his addiction.



However, Tai has refuted these allegations, claiming instead that he and his wife are going through a separation.