Boxing triumph thrills Afghans

Crowds pay up to $100 per ticket to see Hamid Rahimi defeat his Tanzanian opponent in Kabul’s Fight 4 Peace.

Hamid Rahimi, Afghan-born boxer, has defeated Tanzania’s Saed Mbelwa in Kabul’s Fight 4 Peace.

Rahimi’s seven-round victory drew a raucous crowd who paid up to $100 per ticket for the country’s first organised professional men’s boxing match on Tuesday.

Rahimi’s victory comes in a year of sporting triumphs for Afghanistan.

In August, Rohullah Nikpa won the nation’s second-ever Olympic medal at the London 2012 games.

Nikpa’s bronze came four years after he secured Afghanistan’s first-ever Olympic medal at the Beijing games.

Earlier in October, the nation’s highly successful first-ever football premier league came to a close, with organisers promising bigger and better next year.

Al Jazeera’s David Garrett reports.

Source: Al Jazeera