Pakistan’s mixed martial arts stars known as Ahmed ‘The Wolverine’ Mujtaba knocked out his Indian rival, Rahul Raju in just 60 seconds in the first round of ONE Championship in Singapore on Friday.
A report published on the championship site said Mujtaba made his home country extremely proud when he finished the match in the first 56 seconds. Mujtaba hails from Quetta and is a graduate of the Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering, and Management Sciences.
🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/nCkdEBzftE
— Ahmed Wolverine Mujtaba (@ahmedwolverine1) February 5, 2021
The Pakistani MMA star landed a first blow to the opponent shortly after the athletes touched the gloves. Mujtaba then delivered a strong kick at Raju’s lead leg. Raju deflected his second punch. While, Raju, titled as Kerala Kushner, regained his momentum to bounce back, Mujtaba delivered another kick on his leg. The Indian athlete again came forward with a pawing jab and then a wild overhand right” but Mujtaba blocked it.
“The two men cautiously looked to set up their next attacks and they met in the middle, where they simultaneously cracked each other with strongside roundhouse kicks to the legs. Mujtaba tried to sneak in a left hook to the head following their dual shin-on-shin meeting, but the Indian cleverly backed away from that danger,” an excerpt read on the site of the championship.
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Wolverine maintained his pressure on the Indian athlete. Mujtaba then walked to the center of the Circle to reset himself. Mujtaba finally ended the match with a powerful blow to Raju that knocked him down. Mujtaba then delivered a punch at his chin after which Raju lost his balance and concentration.
The referee officially ended the match and declared Mujtaba’s victory. The match gave Mujtaba his third international won elevating his overall score to 10-2.
https://twitter.com/HaroonBinFaisal/status/1357832186230112258?s=20
Last time, Raju has defeated his Pakistani counterpart, Furqan “The Lion” in a match in November 2019. Mujtaba with his win evened the score.
His victory coincided with the Kashmir Day celebrated annually on February 5th to express solidarity with the Kashmiri brethren living under siege in Indian Occupied Jammu Kashmir.
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His victory was immensely celebrated on social media. Pakistani Twitter users congratulated the Pakistani athlete and wished for his success. The win also had a major pact owing to the traditional sports rivalry between the two countries.