Khalifa Nassrati Al Baloushi, the youngest member of the UAE men’s team, added a bronze medal on Day 2 of the jiu-jitsu competition at the fifth Asian Beach Games in Danang, Vietnam, to take their tally to three gold, a silver and three bronze on Monday.
The schoolboy from Al Ain born with a congenital birth defect that left him with stumped fingers on his left hand did well to claim a medal on his first appearance at a major competition.
“They must have had a lot of faith to select me for a major competition. I’m glad I was able to deliver,” said Khalifa, who won four of his five fights in the 56-kilogram weight division.
Khalifa, 17, travelled with the national team to Sri Lanka for the inaugural Asian Jiu-Jitsu Beach Championship last month. He won a gold in the No-Gi (without the traditional kimono) after failing to reach the medal round in the Gi competition.
The UAE will be hoping to add another medal or two to their tally through Faisal Al Ketbi and Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi in the men’s absolute division in Tuesday’s final day of the competition.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport