UAE’s Al Ketbi wins jiu-jitsu gold
abu dhabi — Elite jiu-jitsu players showed off their skills and techniques in front of thousands of fans on the third day of Abu Dhabi World Professional JiuJitsu Championship at the IPIC Arena, a Press release said.
Thursday’s competition saw the first round of the qualifiers kick off in the adult, male and female finals as well as in the masters 1 & 2 male categories in the brown and black belt divisions.
More than 350 players from 25 countries took part in Thursday’s competition which saw the UAE national team display brilliant techniques and skills with Ahmad Al Ketbi taking gold in the masters 2 category, 69 kg.
“I dedicate my win to our royal family, the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation and to the Chairman of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation and JiuJitsu Asian Union and Senior Vice President of the Jiu-Jitsu International Federation, Abdulmunem Al Sayed Mohammed Al Hashmi. Thank you to the Federation for developing the sport to such a high level and because of them Abu Dhabi has now become the global capital of jiujitsu,” Al Ketbi said after his victory.
“The UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation supports us tremendously. They have helped us build our selfconfidence and overcome the elite players from Brazil, Russia and the United States of America. We are now competing in world championships around the world and are excelling and winning medals,” he added.
UAE national team member Obeid Al Kaabi also won a bronze medal in the masters 2 category in the 69 kg division brown belt category proving his ability to compete against the world’s elite players.
Brazil continued to dominate the medals table with nine medals (4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze). USA finished second with six medals (3 gold, 3 silver) and UK finished in third place with four medals (1 gold, 3 silver).
Jiu-jitsu icon Kenny Florian, who will be competing for the USA on Saturday, said: “The competition has been amazing everything has been first class from the moment I stepped off the plane.
“Being here and seeing the venue fired me up immediately as it was especially created for jiu-jitsu and is nothing like I’ve ever seen in the world!”