Abu Dhabi: Talib Al Kirbi and Obaid Al Kaabi won gold in the Masters category as the UAE ended the final day of the Ju-Jitsu World Championship 2019 with a flourish at the Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Khalid Al Kaabi, Ebrahim Abdulla and Humaid Al Blooshi clinched silver medals for the UAE while Wael Al Naqbi, Mohammed Al Shehhi, Rashed Al Naqbi and Mubarak Jassem won bronze medals, bringing the UAE’s total tally in the Masters category to nine medals at this year’s World Championship.
The two gold medals for the UAE were won in the Masters 1 and 2 categories in the 69kg weight class. Khalid Al Kaabi earned a silver medal in the Masters 2 94-plus kg division, Ibrahim Abdulla in the Masters 2 94kg class along with Humaid Al Blooshi in the Masters 4 69kg class.
Wael Al Naqbi won the bronze medal in the Masters 1 69kg category, while joining him in winning bronze medals were Mohammed Al Shehhi in the Masters 2 +94kg category, Rashed Al Naqbi in the Masters 2 94kg division and Mubarak Jassem in the Masters 3 77kg category.
Al Kirbi, a 2018 Asian Games silver medallist in the 69kg, put up a peerless performance in the Masters 1 69kg category, with his technical finesse propelling to the gold medal without running into much resistance. The 2019 Ju-Jitsu World Championship was Al Kirbi’s debut in the Masters category and he made sure to announce his arrival in style. Al Kaabi, the UAE’s second Gold medallist of the day, also put up a strong performance in the Masters 2 69kg class, breezing through the field to end up on the top step of the podium.
“Jiu-Jitsu is a sport that is extremely close to my heart and when asked whether I would like to represent the country in the Masters category, I had no hesitation in agreeing. The feeling of representing your country in a prestigious tournament as the World Championship is a privilege not accorded to a lot of people. I am glad I could justify the faith the UAE federation put in me by earning a gold for the UAE,” said Al Kirbi.
