Maliha claims bronze at MMA Worlds

She reaches the last four before losing to Russia’s Polina Baldina on a split decision

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.