Abu Dhabi: The head of Asia’s Jiu-Jitsu Union has expressed his delight at the number of UAE fighters who have confirmed they will compete in next month’s Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2014 and World Jiu-Jitsu Children’s Cup.
Top fighters from all over the world — including reigning black belt open heavyweight world champion Marcus Almeida and open-weight black-belt champion Gabrielle Garcia — will descend on the capital for the April 15 to 19 event, which is held under the patronage of General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
But it was the local contingent that caught the eye of Abdul Munam Al Hashemi, President of the Asian Jiu-Jitsu Union and Chairman of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation.
“We are thrilled to have so many talented UAE fighters qualify for this year’s tournament,” he said. “We know that they have been training hard and travelling around the world in order to compete and qualify for this year’s event in Abu Dhabi. Their determination highlights the federation’s commitment to developing and training local talent here in the UAE, ensuring our ability to compete against the best in the world.”
The championships, which are hosted by the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation in partnership with the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), offer a total prize money of Dh1.61m and will be held at the First Gulf Bank Arena at Zayed Sports City.
Local champions Faisal Fahad Al Ketbi (brown belt) and Shamsa Hassan (female blue belt) will be competing along with Yahya Al Hammadi (purple belt), Hassan Al Rumaithi (purple belt), Ali Salem Al Darai (purple belt) and Eman Mohammad (female blue belt).
The World Jiu-Jitsu Children’s Cup will take place on April 15 and 16, with the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship scheduled to take up the remaining three days. Attendance will be free.
