Pakistan’s captain, Shahzaib Rindh, secured a dramatic victory for his team in the final round of the explosive 3 vs 3 team karate fight at Karate Combat 45 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The intense match was settled after the initial rounds ended with tied scores.
The contest began with Pakistan’s Rizwan Ali defeating India’s Pawan Gupta by knockout in the opening round, giving Pakistan an early lead. However, India levelled the score in the second round when Himanshu Kaushik overcame Faizan Khan. Khan was a substitute for Uloomi Karim, who missed weight by five kilos and was disqualified from fighting.
The tie led to a crucial final round, in which Shahzaib Rindh faced off against India’s Rana Singh. Rindh dominated from the start, ultimately winning by technical knockout, putting his team ahead.
Following his victory, Rindh celebrated by raising the Pakistani and Indian flags in the ring, symbolizing peace between the nations. “This fight was for peace. We are not enemies, we are together,” Rindh stated after his win.
Rindh also improved his undefeated record in Karate Combat to 5-0. In February, at Karate Combat 44 in Mexico City, he made headlines by achieving the fastest knockout in the league’s history, defeating Marco Cubas of Peru in just 21 seconds.
The event followed a viral moment from a press conference the day before where Rindh slapped Rana Singh, which heightened tensions and anticipation for their matchup. Rindh provocatively asked Singh post-slap, “How was the slap, bro?”
