ABU DHABI // The UAE bagged 18 medals, including six gold, at the end of Day 2 of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championships at the FGB Arena at the Zayed Sports City.
Musabah Mohammed Al Khateri (70kg), Ibrahim Abdulla Al Naqbi (94kg) and Khaled Saleem (100kg+) struck gold in the white-belt division, while Taleb Saleh (70kg), Jaber Al Derai (84kg) and Eid Rehan (100kg+) emerged winners in the masters blue/purple.
“It is always a good feeling when you win,” said Rehan, who got the better of Moroccan Abdelhak Alaoui in the final.
“There are no easy fights at this level. You need to be on top of your game all the time to be successful. We had a lot of youngsters and I would like to think it was a great experience for them.
“I thought all our fighters did wonderfully well, all those who emerged medal winners as well as those who didn’t. I am sure they did their best. I wish we can add to this tally on the final day, hopefully.”
Mohammed Darwish, Abdulaziz Al Jaberi, Hamad Al Dhuhouri, Hassan Al Rumaithi, Obaid Khamis Al Kaabi were the silver medallists for the host team.
The UAE team bronze winners were Shehab Ahmed Hawai, Mustafa Bashir Faraj, Abdulla Al Shamsi, Saeed Al Khasooni, Ahmad Suhail Al Ketbi, Mohammed Naser Al Musaabi and Khalfan Humaid.
Shamsa Hassan was the lone female medal winner for the home team, claiming a bronze.
“It was a proud day as our Emirati fighters collected their medals in front of packed stands,” said Abdulmunem Al Hashemi, chairman of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation and president of the Asian Jiu-Jitsu Union.
“With one more day to go, the championship is building to an incredible crescendo.”
The big guns will be back in today’s final day of the championship, which culminates with the finals of the absolute class for men and women.
apassela@thenational.ae
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