ABU DHABI // Organisers say they have been inundated with entries for the seventh Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Championship and the Kids World Championship this month.
This year’s Kids Championship has been extended to three days and runs from April 20- 22 followed by the main competition, which runs from April 23-25, both at the IPIC Arena at Zayed Sports City.
Abdulmunem Al Hashmi, president of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation and the Jiu-Jitsu Asian Union (JJAU), said the interest from competitors for both competitions has been overwhelming and had prompted the organisers to extend the number of entries to 4,000.
“We expected around 3,000 at the beginning but the entries kept pouring in since the registration process began a month ago,” he said yesterday.
“We had to limit the numbers because of time constraints and arrangements for the two championships to be staged over three days each.”
The world’s best practitioners in both the men’s and women’s categories are returning to the capital – some to defend their title.
“Our own national team players have returned from a camp in Brazil and hopefully can be among the winners in the various weight and belt divisions in the championships,” Al Hashmi said.
Faisal Al Ketbi, who has won medals at every staging of the World Pro since its inception in 2009, will be competing for the first time in the black-belt division after earning the ranking last year.
“As I start a new journey I want to learn from it and obviously do my best against the best on the world stage,” Al Ketbi said.
“The black belt has raised my confidence and my technical abilities. It is a massive step up and I’m looking forward after the six-week camp we had in Brazil ahead of this competition.”
Rodolfo Viera, who has lost the absolute class here twice in a row to his Brazilian compatriot Marcus Almeida, is back to defend his 95-kilogram weight class and also hopes to retain the open division title.
“I want to do my best, as always,” he said. “The World Pro brings the best from around the world so nobody is guaranteed of a win. It will be the best in every fight.”
Al Hashmi said it was JJAU’s objective to have jiu-jitsu included on an Olympics programme, possibly at Tokyo in five years.
Jiu-jitsu made its debut at the fourth Asian Beach Games in Phuket, Thailand last November, and has been included at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, since the JJAU was established in early 2014.
“It has been a remarkable journey so far,” Al Hashmi said.
“Jiu-jitsu to be included at the 2018 Asian Games in the first year the JJAU was established is an incredible achievement and our next objective is to have the sport included in the Olympics.”
apassela@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @NatSportUAE
