Nawad strikes gold as Al Kaabi settles for silver
I WILL BE READY FOR JAKARTA ASIAN GAMES, SILVER MEDALLIST SAYS
Hamad Nawad, one of the UAE’s medal hopes for the Asian Games in Jakarta, showed his readiness for the mega event by clinching gold, beating Brazilian Lucas Pinheiro 4-0 in the Male Gi Blue Adult 56kg category of the Abu Dhabi World Pro Championship at the Mubadala Arena yesterday.
Nawad had made it to the finals beating compatriot Khalifa Nassrati Al Beloushi, the wonder boy with stubbed fingers, by foot-lock.
“This tournament was a perfect build-up for the Asian Games. I will say I’m ready for Jakarta. Will be training really hard from now on. The ultimate main is to win a medal at Asian Games and I will do everything in my powers to achieve that,” said a beaming Nawad, adding that all his opponents were tough.
“I had some hard fights and so really happy to finish with gold. Last year, I missed out on a medal and so great to be there on the podium. I had good support from the crowd as well,” said Nawad, who will be having a month-long camp in the US before heading to Jakarta in September.
A limping Al Beloushi, despite his loss in the semis, gave everything to settle for the bronze, beating Kazakhstan’s Madi Kurmangozhaev 4-2 on points.
A lot was expected from the UAE’s Humaid Al Kaabi in the Male Gi Blue Adult 62kg final against Brazil’s Fabricio Junior, but he had to wash his hands off the gold medal. Struggling with a wrist injury, Al Kaabi went down to Junior by submission after being tied at 2-2 at one stage.
Junior, thus, took a sweet revenge for his loss against the same opponent in the Abu Dhabi London Grand Slam final.
“It is the first time I have come down to Abu Dhabi and to win gold was simply special. I will be heading back to Brazil tomorrow and will be getting back to practice,” said an ecstatic Junior.
Al Kaabi asserted that missing out on gold will not hamper his preparations for the Asian Games.
“This was my sixth fight and four I won by submission and one by points. My left wrist was hurt badly and hence I couldn’t block the submission. We still have time for Jakarta and I will be ready by then.”
Five golds for UAE
In the Male Gi Blue Adult 110kg too there was disappointment for the UAE as Abdullah Al Kubaisi’s fine run was ended by Russia’s Khachbar Khachilaev 2-0 on points in the final.
In the Male Gi Blue Master 1 56kg final, however, the UAE made a sweep of the medals with Ebrahim Zahi claiming gold by taming Haitham Hanawi with a 2-0 score.
The bronze was pocketed by Ahmad Al Abdouli, who got the better of Rashed Khameis Al Memari 6-2 on points. Out of the 49 gold up for grabs yesterday, the UAE won five gold, nine silver and five bronze.