UAE BOYS CONTINUE TO DAZZLE AT ASIAN GAMES
The UAE’s Faisal Al Ketbi tackles Zaid Sami of Jordan en route to winning gold in the jiu-jitsu men’s under-94kg category, and right, jiu-jitsu under-62kg silver medallist Omar Al Fadhli (left) and bronze medallist Said Al Mazrouei (right), both of the UAE, at the podium with gold medallist Darkhan Nortayev of Kazakhstan at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta on Saturday. —
Good things happen or come to those who persevere and wait. And Faisal Al Ketbi, at age 30, can proudly say that he’s an Asian Games champion. The towering Emirati finally realised his long-cherished dream of becoming one, by clinching gold at the 18th edition of the Games in Jakarta and Palembang in Indonesia on Saturday.
Al Ketbi, one of the pioneers of jiu-jitsu in the UAE and the first Emirati to achieve a black belt in the sport, under Alex Paz and Maiky Reiter, won his Newaza men’s under 94kg bout against Jordan’s Zaid Sami on referee’s decision following a 1-1 stalemate at the Jakarta Convention Centre Assembly Hall.
His gold standard performance meant Al Ketbi ushered in the UAE’s third gold at this year’s Asiad following on Hamad Nawad’s gold strike in the Newaza men’s 56kg category and Ali Al Anjawi’s performance in the Jet Ski Runabout Limited, the first-ever gold in jet ski, on Friday.
The three gold medals also saw them equal the country’s record gold tally set at the Doha Asian Games in 2006. The UAE won two more medals on the day, both coming from jiu-jitsu. Omar Al Fadhli claimed the silver in the Newaza men’s 62kg section, while Said Al Mazrouei took the bronze in the Newaza men’s 62kg segment.
Khalid Al Blooshi had to settle for silver in the Newaza men’s 56kg section after losing to Nawad on Friday, while Talib Al Kirbi took silver in the Newaza men’s 69kg. Mahra Al Hinaai won silver in the Newaza women’s 49kg category. The UAE have three gold, four silver and one bronze so far and with eight medals in total, the country stand on the threshold of equalling or perhaps even going past their record of 10 medals won in Doha. The UAE had won three gold, four silver and three bronze in 2006.
It took the UAE’s tally to seven gold, 15 silver and 13 bronze and 35 medals since their first appearance at the Games in Bangkok, Thailand in 1978 and the UAE’s first medal in 1994, Hiroshima, Japan. The UAE had won one silver and three bronze medals then. Meanwhile, Alia Mohammed, gold medallist at the 2014 Games in Incheon, Korea, finished fourth in the women’s 10,000m.
Al Ketbi had got a bye in the first round and then went on to defeat Mohammed Ghareeb of Bahrain 3-0. He then beat Indonesia’s Mohammed Ariq Noor by submission before going past South Korea’s Hwang Myengse by advantage points. It was the 26th victory and the most vital of Al Ketbi’s career and third by referee’s decision. Meanwhile, a technical glitch deprived Ali Al Anjawi from leading the overall ranking in the Jet Ski Marathon and he eventually finished eighth. Elsewhere, Emirati shooters Saif bin Fetais and Mohammed Hussein made it to the decisive rounds of skeet in Palembang.
Meanwhile, Yousif Mirza, the UAE and Asian Track and Road Cycling champion, hopes to make up for the disappointment in the Road Race when he takes part in the Track Race from Monday.