'A dream come true': UAE's Faisal Al Ketbi wins jiu-jitsu gold at 2018 Asian Games


Amith Passela
  • English
  • Arabic

JAKARTA, INDONESIA // Faisal Al Ketbi said winning an Asian Games gold medal was a "dream come true" as the UAE's top jiu-jitsu fighter led another medal rush for the UAE in Jakarta on Saturday.

The Emirati emerged victorious in the men’s 94-kilogram final over Jordan's Sami Zaid at the Jakarta Convention Centre.

It was one of three medals won by the men's team on Saturday, with Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui winning silver and bronze in the men's 62kg division respectively.

“I started as a wrestler when I was 11 and always wanted to compete at the Asian Games," Al Ketbi said. "Jiu-jitsu provided me that opportunity, and then to come here and win a gold was really a dream come true."

Al Ketbi drew a first-round bye before beating Bahrain's Mohammed Ghareeb 3-0 and Mohammed Ariq Noor by submission to reach the semi-final.

He got the better of South Korea's Hwang Miyeng-se 2-1 by advantage points before the final showdown with Zaid, winning it on referee’s decision after a 1-1 deadlock.

A delighted Al Ketbi, the country's most decorated jiu-jitsu practitioner, was quick to acknowledge the role others played in helping him secure his gold medal.

“I owe this to many people: the country’s Rulers, my bosses and all those who have been behind me, particularly my wife. She has been a tower of strength for me, taking care of all the chores and looking after every aspect of my family life," he said.

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More from Amith Passela at the Asian Games:

Points mix-up sees UAE's Khalid Al Maazmi miss out on Asian Games jet ski medal

UAE go on medal rush at Asian Games with two golds and three silvers

Spotlight falls on jiu-jitsu team as UAE embrace medal expectations

Omar Al Fadhli: Asiad gold 'will be the high point of my career'

Faisal Al Ketbi: Hoping hard work in LA will pay off at Asiad

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Al Ketbi, 30, already held legendary status in UAE martial arts. He was the first Emirati to achieve a black belt in jiu-jitsu and has held the country's No 1 ranking for more than a decade.

Having realised his childhood dream of winning an Asian Games gold medal what’s next for Al Ketbi?

“I would like compete at the Asian Games again,” he said. “It won’t be easy with so many youngsters coming up but I will not be leaving my chair easily.

“Whoever will come in my place and represent UAE will definitely be worth it. If I can’t make it again, I will be one of the guys to come and support the one to take my place.”

Al Fadhli had the chance to follow Al Ketbi on to the top spot of the podium but came up just short in the 62kg final.

The teenager cleared the first hurdle over Bahrain's Abdulla Munfaredi 4-2. He then overcame Shoymard Abdulnazarov of Tajikistan 2-0 and Alymgeldi Abdizhamil Uulu of Kyrgyzstan 2-0.

That set up a final against Darkhan Nortayev. The Kazakh fighter was awarded the match 2-1, but not before Al Fadhli's camp asked for a video referral of a late advantage point awarded to Nortayev. After the review, officials upheld their original decision.

Al Fadhli, however, wasn’t too disappointed at losing out on a gold medal.

“My goal was to reach the medal round and anything beyond was like a bonus,” he said.

“I can take this experience forward. Most of my opponents whom I face were over 20. I have age on my side and a long journey ahead of me, so I’m happy with the result,” added the 18-year-old Emirati.

In the women's draw, the UAE's Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi both failed to reach the medal rounds in the 62kg weight.

Al Matrooshi lost to Violetta Krovyakova of Turkmenistan 7-0 in the quarter-finals and got beat by the Brazilian born Julia Simone of Indonesia 2-0 in the repechage.

Al Shamsi made a similar exit after going down to Udval Tsoghkhuu of Mongolia in the last eight and was beaten to submission by Jordanian Yara Kakish in the repechage.

Saturday's medals followed a successful medal haul on Friday for the UAE where Emiratis won two golds and three silvers in the space of an hour in jiu-jitsu and jet-ski competitions.

So far the UAE have three gold medals, four silver and one bronze.

Results:

Women 62kg:

Sung Ki-ra (KOR) bt Tian Lien (SGP)

Bronze medals:

Yara Kakish (JOR) bt Violetta Krovyyakova (TKM)

Udval Tsogkhuu (MNG) bt Julia Simone (IRA)

Men 62kg:

Darkhan Nortayev (KAZ) bt Omar Al Fadhli (UAE)

Bronze medals:

Saeed Al Mazroui (UAE) bt Daniel Hilal (LEB)

Freeh Al Harahsheh (JOR) bt Mirali Agayev (TKM)

Men 94kg:

Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE) bt Sami Zaid (JOR)

Bronze medals:

Hwang Miyeng-se (KOR) Ramazan Kussainov (KAZ)

Rizat Makhshev (KAZ) bt Ilkhom Juraev (UZB)

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For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.

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For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup. 

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There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.

In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show. 

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The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

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Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

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A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

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F1 2020 calendar

March 15 - Australia, Melbourne; March 22 - Bahrain, Sakhir; April 5 - Vietnam, Hanoi; April 19 - China, Shanghai; May 3 - Netherlands, Zandvoort; May 20 - Spain, Barcelona; May 24 - Monaco, Monaco; June 7 - Azerbaijan, Baku; June 14 - Canada, Montreal; June 28 - France, Le Castellet; July 5 - Austria, Spielberg; July 19 - Great Britain, Silverstone; August 2 - Hungary, Budapest; August 30 - Belgium, Spa; September 6 - Italy, Monza; September 20 - Singapore, Singapore; September 27 - Russia, Sochi; October 11 - Japan, Suzuka; October 25 - United States, Austin; November 1 - Mexico City, Mexico City; November 15 - Brazil, Sao Paulo; November 29 - Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi.

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

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“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

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