PHUKET, THAILAND // After a successful debut at the fourth Asian Beach Games, jiu-jitsu has been included in the inaugural World Beach Games in 2017.
Sheikh Ahmed Al Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), made the announcement on Friday.
“The IOC has accepted our recommendation to include jiu-jitsu in the 2017 World Beach Games,” Sheikh Ahmed said after the presentation of medals to the winners of the Beach Games at Karon Beach, a five-kilometre drive from the competition venue Patong Beach.
He congratulated Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, “because I know he has been behind the development of the sport, not only in the UAE but in Asia”.
Sheikh Mohammed is the leading patron of jiu-jitsu in the UAE.
Sheikh Ahmed flew to the jiu-jitsu medal presentation, where the UAE picked up nine medals, four of them gold, after attending the opening ceremony of the Gulf Cup of Nations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday.
The Jiu-Jitsu Asian Union (JJAU) was founded in January and is headed by the UAE, with Abdulmunem Al Hashmi and Fahad Ali Al Shamsi elected as the president and general secretary, respectively.
Under their leadership, jiu-jitsu has risen rapidly during the past 10 months.
Having made its debut at the Beach Games, in the resort of Phuket, the plans are to draw up a calendar in the lead-up to the World Beach Games, which will be held at a site not yet determined.
The JJAU’s first task is to stage the first Asian Championships next year and then prepare for the fifth Asian Beach Games at Nha Trang, Vietnam, from September 23 to October 3, 2016.
“The Beach Games was a new experience from which the JJAU can draw a lot of positives,” said Al Shamsi, who is also the chief executive of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation. “It was also a successful first staging of the sport under the OCA.
“There was a lot of enthusiasm and commitment from the participating countries, not to mention the encouragement to the athletes and the new audiences we won in Phuket.
“Now we have a good idea how to go about it to make a bigger impression at the next Beach Games. But, prior to that, we are finalising the course of action in staging the first Asian Championships under the JJAU next year.”
Al Shamsi said the plan is to stage qualifying trials in five zones in Asia, with the finals to be held towards the end of 2015 at venues that are yet to be finalised.
The JJAU has 32 affiliated countries, which is expected to rise to about 45 before the Asian Championship trials.
STRONG FOLLOWING IN REGION
Panagiotis Theodoropoulos, president of the Jiu-Jitsu International Federation, said the Asian Beach Games have put jiu-jitsu in the continent on a firm footing.
“It provided some of the newly affiliated countries to the Jiu-Jitsu Asian Union the opportunity to show the abilities of their athletes,” he said. “I believe this is a fantastic beginning because Asia has the resources and infrastructure needed to take the sport to a new level in a very short time.
“It is a remarkable achievement of the JJAU, too, given the short time they have had to organise this competition and to prepare the athletes. This is what is satisfying to us, because Asia is working very fast in a correct way.”
Theodoropoulos said the next step of the JJAU was to “set up a strong foundation in Asia by preparing coaches and referees, applying all the educational programs we have at the JJIF ... in two years Asia will be strong as any other jiu-jitsu powerhouses in the world.”
He said the JJAU’s next objective is to take jiu-jitsu to the 2018 Asian Games, in Bali, Indonesia.
According to Theodoropoulos, the JJIF was working closely with the regional unions to create common programmes to develop jiu-jitsu in all countries.
“The JJIF supports the JJAU by transferring people from other continents to share their experience and to develop their education,” he said. “
We are also open to all Asian countries to participate in the international championships around the world.”
According to Theodoropoulos, seven countries from Asia will be at the three-day world championships in France from November 28 and more are expected to take part in the junior world championships in Greece in March.
apassela@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
