Dubai: Brazil reaffirmed their class at the conclusion of the Dubai Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship that concluded at Al Nasr late on Saturday.
The South Americans who had topped the opening round of the 13-leg UAE Championships in Al Ain last month with a total haul of 88 medals, including 32 gold, once again finished at the summit this time with 91 medals including 35 gold, 29 silver and 27 bronze.
The UAE once again had to settle for second place overall, although with lesser medals. The hosts had claimed 76 medals including 24 gold, 27 silver and 25 bronze in Al Ain. But they missed out on a few clear chances this time as they ended with a tally of 74 including 17 gold, 29 silver and 28 bronze medals over the two days of the competition.
After ending in third place at the end of the first day, Kazakhstan surrendered their place in the medals table to Russia, who went on to claim six gold and two silver and two bronze for a total of ten. Kazakhstan had to settle for fourth overall with nine medals including five gold, a silver and three bronze.
Yahya Al Hammadi and Ahmad Al Ketbi clinched gold in the brown belt open weight Master 1 and Master 2 categories respectively, while Mohammad Al Hammadi was best in the blue belt 77kgs and Ebrahim Al Hossani in the Violet belt 77kg for adults. Sheefa Mousa was outstanding among the UAE women as she clinched two golds, namely in the white belt 70kg and Open weight categories.
The home team’s gold medals were complete with Hamdan Al Baloushi winning the blue belt 85kg competition and Mohammad Al Hameli taking top honours in the white 62kg adults category.
Fahad Ali, a former national team footballer and now chief executive officer with the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation (UAE JJF), stressed that the UAE’s success in such a high-level competition should not come as a surprise. “We have been investing a lot of effort in our youth and we are now reaping the fruits. I believe this sort of success is just the beginning for us in Jiu-Jitsu,” Ali told Gulf News.
“Jiu-Jitsu will feature as one of the sports in the next Asian Games [in 2018 in Indonesia] and we can look forward with a lot of hope and expectations from our Jiu-Jitsu squad. There are another three years before the Asian Games and we should have a few of our athletes ready for the Asian challenge,” he added.
Ali believes that the UAE fighters have been showing improvement due to the fact that they have been competing against some of the best athletes from across the world. “During this championship we’ve had participants from more than 30 countries. So you can imagine the exposure and experience our team stands to get over an entire season,” Ali said.
“The plan forward is to improve the quality of the competitions, not just as a championship but in its entirety including its marketing and media. We already have a rankings system in place and that has been a good start to keep the youngsters motivated and focused for an entire season,” he added.
Mohammad Salem Al Daheri, Vice Chairman, UAE JJF and Yousuf Al Batran, Board Member, UAE JJF were joined by Khalid Al Midfa, Assistant General Secretary, General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare (GAYSW) at the presentation of the overall honours to the top three finishers.
