MYSURU: She knocked out a man with a single punch and slammed him to the ground. Meet 35-year-old Komal Rao, who defeated a male opponent in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in a cage fight in YBN Germany in July 2017. With this, she has become the first woman in the world to defeat a male opponent in MMA.Komal is the adopted daughter of Dr Seema Rao, India’s first woman commando Trainer and Major Dr Deepak Rao, a Pioneer of Close Quarter Battle. Residents of Mumbai, the family had recently visited Mysuru.
Komal began learning Jeet Kune Do (JKD), a form of martial arts at the tender age of 15.
Today, she is one among the five female instructors in the world certified by Richard Bustillo, student of Bruce Lee. Dr Komal has done her advanced training in JKD under grand master Richard Bustillo.
She says: “I am the only Indian woman to have fought a male in an MMA cage fight. I have been ranked 22nd in the Pro-MMA Women fighter in Germany and I feel proud about it.”