Abu Dhabi World Pro 2019: Annie Ramirez cries tears of joy after clinching gold
The 28-year-old from the Philippines had to wait for an anxious moment until the referee’s verdict declared her the winner in the female purple belt 55-kilogram final
Annie Ramirez celebrated her first gold at the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship with tears of joy.
The 28-year-old from the Philippines had to wait for an anxious moment, though, until the referee’s verdict declared her the winner over American Sophia Dalpra after a 4-4 deadlock in the female purple belt 55-kilogram final at the Mubadala Arena on Wednesday.
“This is my first gold in four years in the World Pro and it means a lot for me and my country,” Ramirez said.
“I got emotional because I have never won a gold on a world stage. It was a close fight and with the points tied, that was a long and anxious wait before I was declared the winner.”
Ramirez previously competed at the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, popularly known as the World Pro, twice in the blue belt division and last year in the purple.
“I didn’t give up on my goal of winning gold in the World Pro," she said. "It also comes in time when the Philippines will host the SEA Games in December.
“This gold also means a lot for me as a jiu-jitsu teacher for kids with hearing impairment. I’m sure it will motivate those kids, and perhaps, see some of them competing in Abu Dhabi in the foreseeable future.”
Ramirez, 28, is a judo black belt and switched to jiu-jitsu six years ago. She has represented the Philippines in both martial arts sports.
She never won an international medal in judo but has been successful jiu-jitsu, winning golds in the Asian Beach Games in Thailand and Vietnam in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
“It took me around two years to get adjusted to jiu-jitsu but I’m glad that I made the switch," said Ramirez, who got the better of Galina Duvanova of Kazakhstan by points 5-0 and Emirati Maha Al Hanaei by submission en route to the final.
“All three fights were very hard but then you don’t expect it to be easy at this level,” she added. “Now my focus is on the next competition in Mongolia and then prepare for the SEA Games. The gold in the World Pro is a good platform to work on my next objectives.”
Elsewhere, Bashayer Al Matrooshi claimed silver and Mahra Al Hanaei missed out on a bronze, with both competing in the female adult division for the first time.
Al Matrooshi, 18, went down to Brazilian Julia Alves by points 2-0 in the final, while 17-year-old Al Hanaei was beaten by Nikoletta Zarkadi of Greece 6-0 - both in the blue belt 55kg weight.
“It was a good result for me but more important was the experience at this level,” said Al Matrooshi. “I have competed in the adult divisions at the Asian level but this is a step above, being a world championship. Obviously will take this experience forward.”
The host nation ended the day with a silver each for Nour Al Harmoodi, Khalifa Nassrati Al Blooshi and Saeed Al Mazrouei.
Al Harmoodi went down to Brazilian Larissa Santos in the female blue belt 70kg by points 2-0. Al Blooshi and Al Mazrouei both lost to Brazilians, Roiter Lima and Fabricio Junior in the 56kg and 62kg, respectively, both in the purple belt division.
The Brazilians won nine of the 15 gold medals (nine females and six males) that were up for grabs in the opening day of the World Pro.
The Swedes bagged two of the remaining golds while the Philippines, Cambodia, Italy and Portugal shared one each.
Scorebox
Dubai Hurricanes 31 Dubai Sports City Eagles 22
Hurricanes
Tries: Finck, Powell, Jordan, Roderick, Heathcote
Cons: Tredray 2, Powell
Eagles
Tries: O’Driscoll 2, Ives
Cons: Carey 2
Pens: Carey
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The flights
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The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
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1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner: Dirilis Ertugrul, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Ismail Mohammed (trainer) 2.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,400m
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Winner: Raakezz, Tadhg O’Shea, Nicholas Bachalard 3.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,200m
Winner: Au Couer, Sean Kirrane, Satish Seemar 3.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
Winner: Rayig, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson 4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer 4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m
Winner: King’s Shadow, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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CHAMPIONS TROPHY
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AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
£10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
£100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
£250m to train new AI models
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023 More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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I pledge to always stand up for these values: Zayed's values for tolerance and human fraternity
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
