More than 6,000 boys in the 14 to 17 age group competed for 155 gold medals in the infant, juniors, teen and juvenile categories at the Ipic Arena on Thursday.
Preparation
There were many competitors making use of the event as a final warm-up for Monday’s Abu Dhabi World Youth Championship for boys.
‘Good outing’ for Dadaaev
Magomedali Dadaaev from Russia was one of the juvenile fighters making most of the opportunity. He won the blue belt 66-kilogram title from Emirati Saeed Saif Al Khyeli.
“Indeed, it was a good outing and good result for me ahead of Monday’s competition,” he said. “Fortunately, I wasn’t stretched too much in my two fights. It was a good feeling to come up against two unknown fighters. I feel very confident for the upcoming challenge now.”
__________________________________
Read more
■ Day 3 highlights: UAE win 34 gold, 41 silver and 60 bronze on Day 3
■ Day 2 highlights: Kazakh teenager lights up Ipic Arena
■ Day 1 highlights: Da Ponte 'delighted' to see pupils enjoy success
__________________________________
‘Now for the big one’
Mohammed Al Ketbi, 14, who has won three gold medals in the 34kg white belt category since he took up jiu-jitsu three years ago, said the experience will help him in the future.
“I will never forget the encouragement from my friends and family during the competitions. I have fulfilled a dream by completing a hat-trick of gold in the Festival. Now for the big one on Monday. I am pretty sure I can achieve good results there.”
Beneficial sport
Abdulaziz Hasan Al Hammadi, 15, who also won a gold medal spoke about the benefits of jiu-jitsu.
“The sport has changed me,” he said. “It creates strong links between fighters when you see each other at competitions like this. I want to keep fighting and eventually become a black belt and then turn professional.
“Before I started jiu-jitsu, I was obese. I weighed 65kg, now I weigh 52kg and am much healthier – I know about good nutrition now. Jiu-jitsu teaches you to be calm and respect your opponent. Nobody loses in this sport; everybody learns something new every day.”
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
