Nepal’s Dhami and Kakshapati step into international MMA spotlight

Sangita Dhami was 19 when she won a gold medal in wrestling for the first time. It was at the 13th South Asian Games in December 2019 in Nepal. Dhami was competing in the women’s 55kg category. A gold medal at the South Asian level probably led many, including her coach Rajendra Chand, to think that Dhami could do more in wrestling. Dhami was one of the 30 girls from different schools in Kanchanpur district who showed interest in Chand’s plan of producing wrestlers. “Dhami was hard-working and brave,” an elated Chand had told the Post after Dhami won the South Asian gold back then. “She also had the ability to learn new skills quickly and implement them in the game.” The South Asian Games, supposed to be a biennial tournament, has not seen the 14th edition to date. Dhami has not gotten a chance to test her might at the South Asian stage again. Dhami, however, did learn new skills quickly and implemented them effectively in the meantime, but just not in wrestling. Six years and four months after her maiden gold in wrestling, Dhami, who hails from Bhimdatta Municipality in Kanchanpur, is in the process of becoming a pro mixed martial arts fighter. She is currently an amateur fighter in the strawweight division. And she has a big fight ahead of her, at the Immortal Fighting Championship-1 in Bengaluru, India, on Saturday. Choudhary won gold at the 2025 IMMAF Asian MMA Championship and a bronze at the 2025 IMMAF World Championship. She is also a three-time gold medallist a