Asim settles for a bronze after semi-final defeat at Asian Games

Pakistan’s Asim Khan secured a historic bronze medal at the Asian Games on Monday after losing 3-0 to Tajikistan’s Mirzobek Umarov in the men’s Modern Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) -60kg semi-final.
Asim, Pakistan’s lone MMA representative at the Aichi-Nagoya Games, was unable to match Umarov’s level in the last-four contest, bringing his bid for a place in the gold-medal bout to an end.
Despite the defeat, the result marked a landmark moment for Pakistani combat sports, with Asim becoming the country’s first MMA athlete to win a medal at the Asian Games. The 2026 edition is also the first Asian Games in which MMA has been contested.
Asim had entered the semi-final with confidence after producing a commanding performance against Cambodia’s Sopanha Pheng in the quarter-finals on Sunday. He defeated Pheng 3-0 to reach the last four and, with only ten fighters entered in the Modern -60kg category, guaranteed Pakistan at least a bronze medal. 
But against Umarov, Khan found the challenge significantly tougher.
The Tajik fighter controlled the contest sufficiently to earn a unanimous 3-0 decision, ending Pakistan’s hopes of advancing to the final.
Asim’s coach Dilawar Khan said the experience of competing against professional-level opponents had presented an additional challenge for the Pakistani fighter.
“For the first time in the Asian Games pros had been allowed and you know they have other level. Their training and diet are different,” Dilawar told The Express Tribune.
“Still we are happy to compete with them. We won a bronze on our debut as this is the first time that a Pakistani fighter took part in the Asian Games.”
Pakistan is competing across 23 sports disciplines at the Games.