Thiago Marquez retained his Masters-1 title in the 69-kilogram division at the 14th Abu Dhabi World Professional Championship.
The Brazilian, representing the Abu Dhabi based Commando Group, got the better of Brazil-born American Osvaldo Moizinho in the final by submission at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena on Wednesday.
Marquez, 38, drew a first-round bye and won his next two fights against Jordanian Abdelkarim Zaid and compatriot Victor Moraes, both by submission, to remain undefeated in the Abu Dhabi Masters since moving to the capital city to work as a jiu-jitsu instructor for the Commando Group in 2015.
“For me, aside from winning tonight, it’s been a long and beautiful journey to be able to work, train and compete in my favourite sport in Abu Dhabi,” the he said.
“I want to keep myself in good shape and be in jiu-jitsu for as long as possible. I put in the same amount of work when I first participated in the World Pro in 2012.”
Rodrigo Ribeiro stunned defending champion Igor Silva in an all-Brazilian final in the Masters-1 black belt 120kg.
Other winners were Emerson da Silva (56kg), Jose Barros (62kg) and Renato Cardoso (94kg). The remaining two golds in the Masters-1 black belt were claimed by Swede Alan do Nascimento (77kg) and Australian William Dias (85kg).
Mohammad Al Yami of Saudi Arabia travelled all the way from the United States to compete and took gold in the Masters-2 (62kg) blue belt division.
“The Abu Dhabi World Pro was a chance I couldn't pass,” he said. “Many of my family members and friends came to watch me fight and cheered me on. My gold medal achievement came as a happy surprise for them.”
Cinthya de Paula Oliveira bagged gold in the Master-1 (70kg) blue belt for women.
“Honestly speaking, Brazilian athletes like the Abu Dhabi World Pro,” she said. “Everybody was counting on this championship. It’s wonderful that I was able to win the medal, but more than that, it's a great event where we can reconnect with old friends and make new ones in the jiu-jitsu community.”
Briton Valmyr Neto returned with a gold in the Masters-2 (62kg) black belt men’s division is already planning to return in 2023.
“The UAE, especially Abu Dhabi, is the land of real opportunities,” he said. “All you need to do is prepare, show courage, and perform. If you do these three, you will get the desired outcomes. The tournament is fantastic in every way, and I want to return the next year.”
Meanwhile, the preliminaries for the main open championship for men and women got underway on Thursday and will continue on Friday with the finals slated for Saturday.
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
WandaVision
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
Directed by: Matt Shakman
Rating: Four stars
Five films to watch
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?
The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Tesalam Aleik
Abdullah Al Ruwaished
(Rotana)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Europa League semi-final, second leg
Atletico Madrid (1) v Arsenal (1)
Where: Wanda Metropolitano
When: Thursday, kick-off 10.45pm
Live: On BeIN Sports HD
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
RESULT
Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
Khribin (31', 54', 89'), Al Shahrani 40'
Red card: Otayf (Al Hilal, 49')
DUBAI CARNIVAL RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner Dubai Future, Harry Bentley (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm UAE 1000 Guineas Listed $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner Dubai Love, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
7.40pm Dubai Dash Listed $175,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Equilateral, James Doyle, Charles Hills.
8.15pm Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions $100,000 (D) 1.900m
Winner Laser Show, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Glorious Journey, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
