Abu Dhabi, The UAE national jiu-jitsu team added further 17 medals to their Jiu-Jitsu World Championship tally as the competitions for the Under-18 division were held at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena in Zayed Sports City on Sunday.
The team, which is on a winning spree since the 27th edition of the championship kicked off last week, rounded off an eventful weekend with additional five gold, seven silver, and five bronze medals in their bulging trophy cabinet.
With the competitions for the Under-21 scheduled for Monday, the team, sponsored by Mubadala Investment Company, is all set to reign supreme on the final medal table and retain the championship title from last year. The team has picked up a total of 15 gold, 14 silver, and 17 bronze medals so far.
Meera Aljarjawi (70kg) gave a positive start for the team on the ninth day of the event, capturing bronze and was then joined by Rauda Alshamsi (40kg), Mohammed Saeed Alshehhi (50 kg), Hamad Saeed Alshehhi (46 kg), Fahad Alhammadi (-73kg) and Aysha Alshamsi (44 kg) on the podium with gold medals, showing the team’s complete dominance on the mats.
Abdul Rahman Mohammed (50 kg), Majid Alblooshi (46 kg), Gameah Alhammadi (+70 kg) Hazza Alhassani (73), Ammar Alhosani (+81) and Abdulrahman Almarzooqi (55 kg) grabbed silver for the team while Alyazya Alkalbani (57 kg), Meera Alsaeedi (40 kg), Khalid Alshamsi (55 kg) and Hissa Alyasi (44 kg) made the hosts proud with bronze medals.
Today’s competitions were attended by Mohammed Salem Al Dhaheri, Vice Chairman of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, Hadi Al Askari, Vice President – Partnerships, Community Outreach & event at Mubadala, Fahad Ali Al Shamsi, Secretary General of the UAE and Asian Federations, Joachim Thumfart, Director-General of the Jiu-Jitsu International Federation and a number of heads of continental and national federations.
Mohammed Salem Al Dhaheri, Vice Chairman of the UAEJJF, praised the national jiu-jitsu team for their remarkable performance.
“The achievements and successes of UAE athletes are the results of the unwavering support from the visionary leadership of the UAE which helped the nation achieve global dominance in jiu-jitsu. It has paved the way for the creation of a new generation of champions and talents eligible to compete and win medals at the international event, as our talents once again proved today,” he said.
Al Dhaheri added: “The national team’s performance in 2022 will be remembered for its remarkable feats. They did a great job, winning the World Games, the Asian Championship, and now the World Championship.”
After putting on a tremendous performance in initial rounds, the two Emirati Champions Hazza Alhassani and Fahad Alhammadi faced off in the 73 kg final, with the latter taking home the gold. “I am thrilled that my teammate and I made it to the final. The good news is that we both presented our nation with two priceless medals,” added Fahad.
In turn, Alhassani said: “We have trained hard to reach this technical level, and we aspire to secure the largest number of medals that enrich the UAE’s tally and enhance its chances of winning the title. We will do whatever it takes to meet the expectations placed on us.”
After defeating many opponents, UAE’s Gameah Alhammadi (above 70kg) won the silver medal in the 70 kg weight division. “I am ecstatic to be on the World Championship podium; this is what I was hoping for. I am happy with how I performed today and will keep working on my skills with the lessons I learnt during this competition.”
On the side-lines of the competitions on Sunday, the UAEJJF and Uzbekistan Jiu-Jitsu Federation signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together to develop the sport in both countries.
The agreement was signed by Fahad Al Shamsi, secretary general of the UAEJJF and Gayrat Nabiev, general secretary of the Uzbek federation, during a brief ceremony that took place at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena.
The MoU stipulates that both parties would cooperate to promote players, share expertise, and plan events in both nations.
As the Championship draws to close, different national teams and the supporting officials are putting their best effort into the remaining matches to make sure their teams return home with the most medals. Oros Jozsef, the coach for Romanian Newaza, is one among them.
“My team is performing admirably. We aim to win additional medals in the upcoming days as there are still a few competition days left,” he stated.
He expressed admiration for Abu Dhabi’s handling of jiu-jitsu. “We are quite impressed with how the federation and the leadership support jiu-jitsu. It’s great that jiu-jitsu is being promoted in schools. The UAE is like a model for us, and we want to strive to achieve the same in our country also,” he added.
Anderson Gouveia, the coach for the Angola’s team, also expressed similar views. “Always a pleasure to be in Abu Dhabi. Last year, we also took part in the World Championship in Abu Dhabi. But it is obvious that things have changed. The sport is growing more popular and more quickly as a result of the national federations efforts. The championship is getting better and drawing more attention each year,” he said.
Source: Emirates News Agency
