PHOTO: IJF
Malaika Noor, a young 20-year-old Pakistani judoka, showcased an outstanding performance in the 52kg category. Despite her best efforts, she narrowly missed the gold, settling for a Silver Medal after losing in the final. In the semifinal, she impressively defeated Raneem Aljazazi of the host country, Jordan. With this remarkable achievement, Malaika becomes the first-ever Pakistani female to win a silver medal in any Asian-level judo competition.
Last year, Malaika also represented Pakistan at the World Junior Judo Championship 2024 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Her consistent progress marks her as one of the country’s most promising athletes.
The President of Pakistan Judo Federation, Col. Junaid Alam, along with the entire federation, extended heartfelt appreciation for her historic achievement.
She defeated a Jordanian opponent in her seminal. She took sealed the win in less than three minutes.
Previously, Malika represented Pakistan at the Dushanbe World Championships Juniors Individuals 2024.
“This is Malika’s second international event and so far she has shown improvement,” the Pakistan Judo Federation (PJF) secretary Masood Ahmed told The Express Tribune. “She competed in the juniors’ world championship last year and she lost in the early rounds, but she was appreciated by the International Judo Federation. This year she is competing in seniors’ event.
“She belongs to Lakki Marwat, and train regularly at the Qayyum Stadium in Peshawar with us, and she represents Wapda in the domestic events.”
The PJF are fielding five judokas in the Amman Asian Open, Junior and Cadet Open Cup 2025.
The team left for Amman on Saturday, August 16 from Islamabad via Karachi to participate in the competition in Jordan.
“We are very excited for our juniors and cadet athletes to compete in this event,” said Masood.
“In juniors, we have Muhammad Abbas, he will compete in the open competition and in the junior competition. Abbas has previously represented Pakistan in South Korea last year in Asian junior cadet.
“The rest of the three players are making their international debut. Like Noor Khan from Balochistan is very talented and we are hoping that he will impress.
“Then we have Faisal Shah and Ahmed and Adnan, they belong to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, they will compete in senior, junior and cadet.”
Masood further added that the Amman Asian Open is an important international event will provide Pakistani judokas with the opportunity to showcase their talent and compete against some of the best athletes from across Asia.
The participation reflects Pakistan Judo Federation’s continued efforts to promote the sport at international level and provide exposure to young athletes.
“We are focusing on grooming the junior players for the international events, we want to have a good pool of athletes who can win laurels for the country in the bigger events and for that we must provide the opportunities to them to hone their talent and test their skills. We are expecting good results from them.
“We are also requesting the Pakistan Sports Board to help us with the camps for these bright athletes for the future events.”
Other Performances
-60kg Category
Noor Khan, 18 years old, representing Balochistan and Pakistan Navy, won his preliminary round fight with a full Ippon against Mohammad Almashaqbeh of Jordan. However, he lost in the next round against Raoul Brillant Nganji of Burundi, a highly experienced senior player, in the pre-quarterfinal. This was Noor Khan’s first-ever international competition.
-60kg Category
Another rising star, a 17-year-old athlete from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, won his opening fight against Mohammad Almseden of Jordan but was later defeated by R. Poltoratskii of Bahrain in the pre-quarterfinal. This too was his first international event, showing great potential for the future.
-73kg Category
Muhammad Abbas Khalil started strong by defeating Khader Alwraikat of Jordan in the preliminary round but was later defeated by Ghady Moussa of Lebanon in the pre-quarterfinal. Earlier, Abbas also represented Pakistan in the Asian Junior Judo Championship 2024 in Korea.