Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is slowly but steadily gaining popularity in Pakistan as a number of new fighters have emerged in the country.
Anita Nisar who hails from Hunza is MMA’S new rising star and grappling as she won two gold medals and award for the best athlete at the recently held Pakistan Grappling Challenge (PGC) at Islamabad Sports Complex.
Speaking exclusively to Pakistan Today, Anita shared her training schedule, love for the sport and significance of MMA, especially for young girls in Pakistan.
Anita said that she started training for MMA in February 2017 at The Fight Fortress (TFF) in Islamabad.
“I started training under Ali Sultan and Ehtisham Karim at TFF,” she said.
Talking about the tournament and her victories, Anita said that she defeated three athletes, from Lahore, becoming the first girl from Hunza to win two golds in this tournament.
Sharing her training schedule and regime, the gold-medalist told Pakistan Today that her MMA class is held daily from 1:30 pm till 3:30 pm.
“After that, I go to another institution to teach MMA, from where I come back to TFF and again train till 10:30 pm at night,” she said. “More than half of my day is dedicated to MMA,” she said.
Talking about her future plans, the graduate student said that she wanted to become the first female MMA fighter of Pakistan.
On the significance of MMA specifically for women in Pakistan, Anita said: “MMA gives you self-confidence, it makes you independent and you know you can defend yourself if needed.”
“It grooms your whole personality and girls should definitely train in this sport,” she asserted.
