UAE jiu-jitsu team sizzle at Abu Dhabi Grand Slam
abu dhabi — All the 12 UAE Jiu-Jitsu national team players returned with medals from the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam held in Tokyo on Sunday.
Emirati players won six gold, three silver and three bronze as the grand slam returned to Japan for the second leg of the Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Series.
There were many thrilling and tactical master class fights and the Big Turtle Fukaya was full capacity with 1,426 fans in attendance.
The gold haul was led by Ibrahim Al Naqbi in the blue belt 94kg. Three players won gold in the white belt category – Mohammed Al Mehri (62kg), Abdullah Ismail Al Senaani (77kg) and Mubarak Basharhil (94kg). Musabbeh Al Khatri (purple masters-1) and Mohammed Al Qubaisi (brown masters 85kg) were the others to earn top spot. Faisal Al Ketbi narrowly missed gold in the black belt 85kg category. Al Ketbi and Gabriel De Sousa was one of the most thrilling fights of the day.
Al Ketbi began with his natural aggressive style and took the fight to De Sousa. Faisal fell behind on points during the last 45 seconds of the fight, which cost him the gold.
“After the success at the Asian games, we wanted to come here in Tokyo and do the same, and even much better. We achieved that as a team. Congratulations to my opponent, he was very tough and he deserves respect. The support that we get from the fans back home and the jiu-jitsu community around the world is incredible,” Al Ketbi said.
Yahya Al Hammadi won bronze in the brown belt 110kg. “I got in form for that fight and I am happy with that. I hope to bring back the gold in Rio,” Al Hammadi said.
Nasser Al Breiki won silver in the blue belt (69kg), Nasser Samtar silver in the white masters (77kg) and Sultan Al Ali bagged bronze in the purple belt (110kg), Saeed bin Fahad won bronze in the white (69kg). The grand slam third leg will be in Rio de Janeiro on November 12 and 13. The registration period for the Rio event closes on Nov. 7.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com