Tokyo: Nepali kickboxer Abiral Ghimire, known as the Himalayan Cheetah, is set to enter the ring for the first time in the ‘K-1 World Max-2025 Tournament’. The event is being organized by the renowned K-1 Group and will take place on 7 September at the Yoyogi 2nd Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.
According to National News Agency Nepal, boxers from countries including China, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Senegal, Brazil, Poland, Armenia, the USA, France, Germany, Russia, and Moldova will be competing in the tournament. Ghimire will face a French opponent in his first match. If he wins three matches, he will claim the title and become the world number one in kickboxing history.
The ‘K-1 World Max Tournament’ is regarded as the most prestigious competition in kickboxing. Abiral is currently training under the guidance of his father, former international kickboxer Dev Ghimire, in Japan. The Nepali Ambassador to Japan, Dr. Durga Bahadur Subedi, has expressed support for Ghimire, acknowledging that his participation alone is a significant achievement for Nepal.
Abiral has participated in 25 international competitions, winning 19 of them by knockout. Notably, on May 4, 2019, he won the ‘K-1 Cross 175’ title in Osaka, Japan, defeating Japanese Kickboxing Champion Oda Jinke in the second round to secure the K-1 Cross World Champion title.
Ghimire’s family, originally from Gurjudhara, Balambu in Chandragiri Municipality-12, currently resides in Nagoya, Japan.