Dubai: Pakistan skipper Shahzaib Rind defeated India’s captain Rana Singh to grab victory for his side in the last-round drama after scores were tied in the explosive 3 vs 3 team fight between the arch-rivals at the Karate Combat 45 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday. The high-tension battle was decided in the last round after Pakistan's Rizwan Ali and India's Himanshu Kaushik won the first and second match, respectively.

The event began with Pakistan’s Rizwan Ali taking on India’s Pawan Gupta in the first round. The Pakistani did not have any trouble in taking his opponent down as Gupta was soon lying on the floor after Rizwan knocked him out in the first round.

Pakistan were leading 1-0 before India’s Himanshu Kaushik faced Faizan Khan in the second round. Had Pakistan won that, they would’ve won the match but that didn’t happen as Kaushik managed to overcome Faizan, who came in place of Uloomi Karim after he wasn’t allowed to fight as he missed his weight by five kilos.

As the match became 1-1, it came down to the decisive round where Pakistan’s captain Shahzaib Rindh faced India’s Rana Singh. Rindh’s continuous attacks from the beginning of the match put his opponent in the corner and he ultimately ended up winning the fight with a technical knockout decision.

After the fight, Rindh came into the ring raising both Pakistani and Indian flags as his gesture of peace between the two countries.

"This fight was for peace. We are not enemies, we are together,” Rindh said after the match.

In the process, he also extended his Karate Combat record to 5-0. He also created history in February earlier this year after he registered the fastest knockout at Karate Combat 44 in Mexico City. The 25-year-old stunned his opponent, Marco Cubas of Peru, with a knockout in 21 seconds during the first round. Earlier, Rindh slapped Rana while on stage during a press conference on Friday. The video of the incident immediately went viral on social media. "How was the slap bro?" Rindh said after the clash on stage.

Published in The Daily National Courier, April, 22 2024

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