Abu Dhabi: The young Emirati jiu jitsu team had a field day winning 14 of the 27 finals in the World Kids Championship held alongside the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu Jitsu Championship.
Less than five years since the UAE jiu jitsu schools programme was launched nearly 200 Emirati boys battled it out with 150 others.
Meanwhile the National Exhibitions Centre's halls here in the capital were full of activity with the first Abu Dhabi International Sports Exhibition being held alongside the championships.
Shaikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Adviser to the National Security Council, inaugurated the show on Thursday evening and visited the various stands.
Commenting on the success of the UAE boys, Mohammad Bin Thaloub Al Darei, President of the UAE Wrestling, Judo, Jiu Jitsu Association said the sport had become popular now in schools.
Huge attraction
"All this is the result of the jiu jitsu schools programme we launched in 2008. Today we have nearly 20,000 students practising the sport in various age groups," he said.
"We have nearly 20 world champions in our coaching staff and the number of UAE kids getting into the sport is getting larger every year.
"The children also get to watch the best in the world when they watch the World Professional Jiu Jitsu Championship being held here every year and that is a huge attraction for them."
Competitions for the school children were held in junior, teen and juvenile divisions and the quality of the skills on show was of a very high calibre, Al Darei said.
The School-Jitsu Programme is one of the Abu Dhabi Education Council's special projects developed for government schools in the emirate.
A total of 47 schools located in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Gharbia Region have signed up for the programme. Students participate in two 45 minute lessons a week throughout the year as part of time-tabled physical education lessons.
Results in the World Kids Jiu Jitsu Championship held on Thursday at the ADNEC Hall (All from UAE unless stated otherwise):
- Junior 30kgs: 1: Salem Mohammad Juma; 2. Rashid Al Hashmi (Oman).
- Junior 34kgs: 1. Khalifa Murad; 2. Khalifa Humaid.
- Junior 38kgs: 1. Ala'a Al Kayed (Jordan); 2. Ali Hasan Abu Bakar .
- Junior 42kgs: 1. Baillo Mohaman (France); 2. Giovame Loureiro (Brazil).
- Junior 46kgs: 1. Connor Carpenter (USA); 2. Saud Ebrahim Al Merri.
- Junior 50kgs: 1. Matheus Sebastian; 2. Mahmoud Hamad (Palestine).
- Junior 50kgs: 1. Zayed Sultan; 2. Yousuf Tareq (Sudan).
- Junior 58kgs: 1. Mohammad Koshar (Egy); 2. Salar Tareq (Iraq).
- Juniors over 58 kgs: 1. Ali Hassan Ali; 2. Mohammad Khamis Zayed.
- Teen 34kg: 1. Mohammad Zacari; 2. Mansour Ahmad.
- Teen 39kgs: 1. Hamad Eisa; 2. Butti Mohammad.
- Teen 44kgs; 1. Faleh Ali Al Ketbi; 2. Nasser Khamis.
- Teen 49kgs: 1. Ali Ebrahim Saeed; 2. Jasem Khamis.
- Teen 54kgs: 1. Anzor Nashkho (Jor); 2. Osama Ali (USA)
- Teen 59kgs: 1. Abdullah Monfaradi (Bahrain); Abdul Hamam Al Tamimi.
- Teen 64kgs: 1. Mustafa Kaafarani (Lebanon); 2. Abdul Rahim Al Obaid (Iran)
- Teen 69kgs: 1. Khalid Adler; 2. Mohammad Al Daheri.
- Teen above 69kgs: 1. Kheir Khalifa (Libya); 2. Denisolt Shakhbulatov (Russia).
- Juvenile 51kgs: 1. Ali Mohammad Asker (Bah); 2. Ali Saleh Mahmoud.
- Juvenile 56kgs: 1. Abdul Rahman Al Shamsi; 2. Khalid Ali Al Daher.
- Juvenile 61kgs: 1. Clayton Carpenter (USA); 2. Mustafa Abdul Razaq (Syria).
- Juvenile 66 kgs: 1. Abdullah Al Obaidi (Iraq); 2. Bono Oliviera (Brazil).
- Juvenile 71kgs : 1. Alha Naji; 2. Shamsi Al Shamsi.
- Juvenile 76kgs: 1. Hamzeh Rashid (Jor); 2. Tareq Kawasmi (Jordan).
- Juvenile 81kgs: 1. Mohammad Al Niyadi; 2. Hussam Ahmad.
- Juvenile 86kgs: 1. Musallam Al Rashidi; 2. Mohammad Al Kaabi.
- Juvenile above 86 kgs: 1. Omar Mazahem (Syria); 2. Tahnoun Al Kaabi.
