PHOTO: IJF
Pakistani judoka Malika Noor qualified for the final of her -52 kg event at the Amman Asian Open women’s event.
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.”