Faisal Al Ketbi and Talib Al Kirbi retained their Asian Beach Games titles as the UAE stamped their mark in the sport by ending Sunday’s opening day of the jiu-jitsu competition in Vietnam with three gold, a silver and two bronze medals.
Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi bagged the other gold in the over 94-kilogram weight division.
Khalfan Belhoul (69kg) took silver, while Saud Al Hammadi (69kg) and Wadima Al Yafei (45kg) – the first Emirati female to win a medal at the Games – claimed bronze.
Al Ketbi, who won a double gold in Phuket two years ago when jiu-jitsu was first introduced at the Asian Beach Games, is aiming for a repeat of that feat in the fifth staging of the event in Danang, Vietnam.
“I’m glad I won my weight division but I’ll be gutted if I can’t complete the double,” he said after coming out best in the over-69kg weight division.
“Of course it’s not going to be an easy task to achieve the double as I have to fight against guys heavier than me in the absolute class.
“I have done it before and I’m pretty confident I can do it again.”
Al Ketbi was the UAE’s main gold medal hope along with Yahia Al Hammadi, as they travelled to Vietnam after winning five gold medals between them in last month’s inaugural Asian Jiu-Jitsu Beach Championships in Sri Lanka, a dress rehearsal for the fifth staging of the Beach Games.
Al Hammadi vowed more was to come from him after claiming his first gold at the Games.
“It is still very early in the season, to enjoy such success was really overwhelming,” he said.
“I can only wish that more is to come from me with so many competitions both locally and internationally in my radar.
“But for the moment I will just concentrate on my next task here in Vietnam.”
The UAE won four gold, two silver and three bronze in the six championship divisions for men and three for women when jiu-jitsu made its debut at the 2014 Asian Beach Games in Phuket.
With 18 gold medals up for grabs in Vietnam, the UAE are hoping to add several more medals than their previous achievement.
They are also well represented with 13 in the men’s events and 10 in the women’s.
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
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The%20specs
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Essentials
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes.
Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur, Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes.
In Penang, Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes.
23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes.
In Langkawi, Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
