Fadhli bags gold as UAE top medal table at Jiu-Jitsu World C’ship

The UAE stamped their dominance in the under-21 category at the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship 2019, clinching three gold medals, one silver, and one bronze medal across the six weight classes on day two World Championship at the Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

The Jiu-Jitsu World Championship 2019, which runs from Nov.16 to Nov.24, has been organised by the Jiu-Jitsu International Federation and hosted by the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation.

Jiu-Jitsu’s popularity in the UAE has been steadily growing and the calibre of its young athletes has continued to grow as evidenced by the emphatic performances of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu National team put up in the under-18 and under-21 category.

Omar Al Fadhli successfully defended his gold medal in the under-21 category’s 62 kg weight class after beating Iles Dadayev of Belgium and said that his experience competing in the under-18 category had provided an impetus to his performances here.

“At the under-18 level, I competed in a lot of international competitions, picked up valuable experience but unfortunately I could not win the gold medal at the World Championship in that category. When I entered the under-21 category, my aim was only the gold medal. I ensured that I did not repeat the mistakes during my time in the under-18s and today I am a two-time under-21 World Championship gold medallist,” he said.

At the end of the second day of the World Championship, the UAE sits at the summit of the medal chart with 39 medals including 12 golds to their name. All these medals have been won in the under-18 and under-21 categories.

A standout feature in the performance of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu National team has been the presence of numerous members having competed and won medals in the under-18 division in earlier World Championship editions and then successfully transitioning to the under-21 category and reaping success there.

Mohammed Salem Al Dhaheri, Vice President of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation and Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Jiu-Jitsu-Jitsu World Championship 2019, said that the presence of a well-researched and organised training structure along with a long-term plan to ensure athletes performed at a consistent level had reaped rewards.

“Seeing athletes who performed well in the under-18 category maintain the consistency in performances in the under-21 category is testament to their skills and a product of a harmonious training environment.

“The UAE’s under-18 team on Saturday and the under-21’s on Sunday showed their hunger for success and desire to make the nation proud. All of us at UAEJJF are very happy with our performances and our goal is to now maintain this level of consistency for years to come,” he said.

UAE National Team head coach Ramos Lemos said that he was pleased to see his charges adapt to their new categories and come out on top.

“It is always very enjoyable for a coach to see his athletes do well across different categories. Several athletes who competed and won medals today in the under-21 category first got the taste of serious international competition in the under-18 category. Their first brush with the pressures and challenges of international competition was in the under-18 category and today I am glad to see that they have managed to incorporate all those learnings successfully in the under-21 class,” he said.

The Jiu-Jitsu World Championship opened at Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Sports City on Friday, bringing together the best athletes from all over the world on one elite platform.

The showpiece competition is being held under the patronage of Sheikh Khalid Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, who was also present at the opening ceremony and encouraged the athletes.