Abu Dhabi: Abdul Rahman Al Tamimi is struggling to keep the balance between studies and the sport he loves — jiu-jitsu — but the 17-year-old refuses to give up.
On Friday, he won gold in the no-gi blue 62kg category at the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Cup at First Gulf Bank Arena, before insisting he has a “future in the sport”, but in the same breath revealing that at times he feels the pressure.
Ever since the Emirati got hooked on the sport, he has excelled, but last year he was forced to keep away from competitions to concentrate on his studies.
“I know I can do well in jiu-jitsu but it is tough as I have to concentrate on studies also,” said Al Tamimi, who beat Reyadh Nader Rafei of Alliance Bahrain in the final. “I didn’t participate in tournaments last year and was focusing on studies. I want to be a doctor. I still used to train, but taking part in competition was putting pressure on me and my studies were affected, so I decided to take a break, which I regret.
“I just don’t want my studies to get affected as my parents have been very supportive in whatever I do. I think I can do that now, but if I feel I can’t then I will take a break. I will keep myself out for five to six months and again come back.”
This victory was a shot in the arm for Al Tamimi, who is in his final year of high school, ahead of the world championships to be held here in April.
“The world championships are very much on my agenda and hopefully I can carry on this form,” said Al Tamimi, who has also won laurels in the European World Championship in Portugal and the Gulf Cup and trains at the Al Jazira Club. “The plan, as of now, is to compete in it. I want to do that but I will try to find more time to train, let’s see.”
In the blue 80kg category, Russia’s Shamil Magomedovich won gold after overpowering Jordan’s Fawaz Fayez Al Zoubi of Ajman Jiu-Jitsu.
“I flew down for this competition so that can get a feel of this place,” said Magomedovich. “I will be competing here in the world championships. It was a good experience but the world championships will be more tough because the best will be here.
The level of this tournament was also good, which is what I needed. You don’t want it to be easy. Hopefully I can improve on this performance and make this experience count when I come back later in the year.”
