Karate Combat champ Shahzaib Rind putting Pakistan on combat sports map: ‘We are not less than anyone’

Pakistan’s representation isn’t typically prominent at combat sports outings, but at recent Karate Combat events the country’s flags have waved proudly.

That’s because of Shahzaib Rind. He’s perhaps not a household name internationally quite yet, but his accomplishments are well known among those back home.

The Karate Combat lightweight champion, Rind said the attention from Pakistan has surprised him and been quite humbling. He’s long felt supported but it was taken to the next level when he won title gold in September and went back to the locker room to retrieve his phone.

“Everyone was messaging me: the president of Pakistan, the prime minister of Pakistan, the chief minister,” Rind recently told MMA Junkie. “Everybody is telling me congratulating me, tweeting me. It was a big thing. It was just a dream. Everyone was calling me. I just blew up.”

The party was only getting started. When Rind returned back to his homeland, things were even crazier.

“(I) went back to Pakistan and had no idea when I went to the airport I saw thousands of people were watching and waiting for me at the airport,” Rind said. “It was early in the morning. The chief minister, the head of the state was there. All of the politicians were there. The roads were blocked for me. Everyone was waiting because I was about to cross the road. The city was totally blocked and it was such an amazing experience. I never had an experience like this. Everyone was coming to take selfies with me. They were so happy. It was a big thing for them and me too. We won the world title. It’s the biggest thing one can ever imagine. It was such an amazing experience. This thing gives me more motivation to become the greatest of all time. This is just the beginning. We have a long way to go.”

According to Rind, Pakistan has never laid claim to a native champion at his level of accomplishment. He’s proud to be the first Pakistani world champion and hopes to pave the road for the next generation to realize they too can hold gold if they put in the work.

“I’m the first Pakistani world champion,” Rind said. “I made history and became two-time world champion. You saw the flags that were all in that arena, because I’m representing my country. There are a lot of fighters who just fight for themselves. But I am here for my country. I am here to represent my country and I’m here to show the world, the Pakistani people and the fighters from Pakistan, we are not less than anyone. We can do anything. In Pakistan, in sports in general, we do not have a lot of athletes and we do not have a lot of big names. So it was my dream, when I came to America, my first dream, to become a Pakistani world champion and represent my country all over the world and show the world we have talent.

“We have a lot of talent. We can do anything. It’s a big message for everyone, especially for the youngsters. They think because some people say Pakistan is not a very developed country. Yes, that is true. But we have a lot of talent. We have a lot of talent to offer. That’s why you saw a lot of Pakistani people. They are so emotionally connected with me because I’m their fighter and they love me. All the time, if I go fight in Singapore, if I fight in any corner of the world, they will be here and they will support me always.”

Eventually, Rind plans to make his way over to MMA. He’s eager to test his hand in a more popular combat sport, but has conditions. As a proud Karate Combat representative, he wants his first MMA bout to take place not in a cage – but in the pit.

“Yeah, I have a great idea about MMA,” Rind said. “I’d love to fight in MMA because I want to… show the world what my skills are. I can do anything. … I’m the best representation of Karate Combat, so I want to fight in MMA – but in Karate Combat. It’s going to be something new. In Karate Combat, you see the Karate Combat pit. It’s different. If you fight there with a former UFC world champion or whoever is best in MMA, I can fight them in the Karate Combat pit and it’s going to be amazing. In the Karate Combat pit, MMA is going to be nasty because we don’t have anywhere to run. It’s a pit and you can do a lot of stuff. It’s going to be an amazing thing.”