PESHAWAR: Pakistan clinched third position in the recently concluded International Kickboxing Championship held in Iran by showing a great performance while Iran bagged the overall winner trophy.
Afghanistan won the second position and Turkiye got fourth position behind third place Pakistan among 10 countries of Asia that participated in this event. Teams from ten countries including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq participated in the International Kickboxing Championship played in Iran, an international martial art coach Rehmat Gul Afridi told APP here on Sunday.
He said, Pakistani players have shown their best skills in the competitions organized in this regard. Pakistani athlete Nazar Khan won the gold medal after defeating the Iranian athlete in the 51kg final. In 63kg, Mohammad Sohail of Pakistan won the title of Gold Middle Laker Best Fighter by knocking out the player from Iran in the final.
In the semi-final of 54kg, Pakistani player Khalil-ur-Rahman from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in the final of 57kg, Owais faced defeat by Iranian players. Similarly, during the semi-final match of 67kg, Ehsanullah withdrew from the event due to injury.
In 71kg, the national player Hameed Ullah won the silver medal by defeating the Iranian player in the final. In this event, Iran team won first position, followed by Afghanistan at second, Pakistan at third while Turkey got the fourth position and Syria took the fifth position and Iraq got the sixth position respectively.
Pakistan Kickboxing Federation Secretary Rana Zahid Mahmood and team coach Mansoor Durrani went to Iran as officials of the Pakistan team. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Kickboxing Association President Mian Waheed Shah and Joint Secretary Naimat Gul and Rehmat Gul congratulated the national athletes and team officials and the entire cabinet of Pakistan Kickboxing Federation for this wonderful achievement.
