Meet the Emirati teenagers looking to win jiu-jitsu gold at the Asian Games


Amith Passela
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UAE jiu-jitsu squad

Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)

Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)

The strides taken by the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation's youth programme will be on full display at the 2018 Asian Games with a women's team made up entirely of teenagers.

At 18, Wadima Al Yafei is the oldest in the squad with Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi - both 17 - and Mahra Al Hanaei, 16, completing the quartet. Al Yafei and Al Hanaei compete in the 49-kilogram division while Al Matrooshi and Al Shamsi are entered in the 62kg weight class.

All four have designs on returning from the Jakarta-Palembang with medals hanging around their necks.

“We have been in a camp in Abu Dhabi preparing for the Games since July 6. We have done our best to be in the best shape, and are confident and ready for the competition,” Al Yafei said.

Al Yafei created history in 2016 by becoming the first Emirati female to win a medal at a senior international event when winning bronze at the Asian Beach Games in Vietnam.

She failed to replicate that performance at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, just under 12 months ago. She accepts the standard of competition will be raised significantly at the Asian Games but is determined to challenge for a podium finish.

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Read more:

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Yousif Mirza determined to make up for Asian Games disappointments in Jakarta

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“There are no guarantee of success in any sports,” said Al Yafei who also was awarded the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award for the Emirati Sportswoman of the Year in the juvenile category in Dubai last December.

“I did my best at Ashgabat but couldn’t reach the medal rounds. The bar will be definitely raised at the Asian Games but so have I. I always believe in myself.

“I want to set goals and achieve them, whether it be in sports or objectives in life. The success I have had earlier has only motivated me more.”

Al four are from the Al Ain Club and share a close bond. They were also teammates for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. Al Matrooshi was the only one to win a medal in Ashgabat but Al Shamsi said they are better prepared for Jakarta.

“Our inexperience was the reason we couldn’t reach the medal rounds, but now I see a complete turnaround,” she said.

“We are super-ready for Jakarta. We went through a good camp, perhaps, the toughest training we have had.

“At one point, we had to go through 20 fights non-stop. That was one of the hardest days of the camp. All that has done us a world of good. It has built a lot of confidence within us.

“Now we just need to go out there and deliver. Obviously there is a lot of pressure on us as the UAE are considered to be one of the leading Asian nations in jiu-jitsu. We need to live up to that reputation and we are ready to do it.”

Hessa Al Shamsi, 17, represented the UAE in the 62kg weight class in the jiu-jitsu competition at the 2018 Asian Games. Reem Mohammed / The National
Hessa Al Shamsi, 17, represented the UAE in the 62kg weight class in the jiu-jitsu competition at the 2018 Asian Games. Reem Mohammed / The National

The quartet are not only after medals but aspire to be role models for Emirati women.

Al Yafei, a first-year engineering student at the UAE University in Al Ain, harbours ambitions of becoming an entrepreneur and starting her own jiu-jitsu academy. Al Hanaei wants to pursue a career as a medical doctor while Al Matrooshi aims to become a fighter pilot and Al Shamsi a diplomat.

But it is through her achievements on the jiu-jitsu mat that Al Yafei aims to be a role model for young Emirati girls.

“That’s the best way forward to the Emirati women,” she said. “For me, my parents have been my biggest fans. They have always stood behind me, supported me in what I want to do.”

For the time being the quartet are focused on the job at hand, which is to win medals for their country in the two-week long continental spectacle in Jakarta-Palembang.

“It’s an honour to be selected for the jiu-jitsu women’s national team and we are really proud to be part of the Asian Games squad,” Al Yafei said.

Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE

Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:

• Buy second hand stuff

 They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.

• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres

 Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.

• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.

Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.

• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home

Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.

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Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.

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There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.

In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.

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UAE jiu-jitsu squad

Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)

Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)