ABU DHABI: The UAE national team is set to be part of more than 2,000 athletes chasing glory at the 26th Jiu-Jitsu World Championship (JJWC). The tournament will kick off at Abu Dhabi’s Jiu Jitsu Arena in Zayed Sports City on Sunday, Nov. 7.
The venue will host the event, which runs until Nov. 11, under the patronage of Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office.
The host national team has prepared a strong line-up for the championship, with 59 players competing in the men’s championship. The male team has 13 players in the adult category; 12 players in the youth category (U21s); 16 players in the under-18 category, and 18 players in the under-16 category. The women’s team has 57 players across the four categories.
Abdul Moneim Al-Hashemi, President of the UAE and Asian Federations, and Senior Vice President of the International Jiu Jitsu Federation paid a visit to the national team training camp and expressed his confidence in the players’ ability to compete at the highest level at Jiu-Jitsu World Championship.
“Competition will not be easy at the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship. The sport is developing rapidly in many countries around the world, as we saw at the 5th Jiu-Jitsu Asian Championships, here in Abu Dhabi, in September,” he said. “Moreover, every athlete in the championship who faces a UAE player will have the added motivation of dethrone the last champion. However, I have full confidence in what you will bring to the mat, as in previous championships. This is your time to win gold.”
Mohamed Salem Al Dhaheri, Vice President of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, said the national team is entering the tournament fully prepared to make the Emirati fans proud.
“Our confidence in our athletes’ capability to continue what they started a decade ago has no limits,” he said. “The world championship is an essential stop in their journey, and we are certain that the feelings of joy and pride that we experienced in previous world championships will be repeated this week.”
Sunday’s competitions begin at 10 a.m. with preliminary rounds for male and female athletes under 16 years across various weight categories. The final rounds will be held on a single mat for the qualifiers in the same categories from 3 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. The official opening ceremony will be held at 2:30 p.m. and will include the display of the flags of the participating countries and teams.
“We are aware of the hopes placed on us, we have prepared very well for the competition, and we promise our fans that we will fight to retain the title,” said national team star Faisal Al-Ketbi.
Alexandre Nascimento, head of the referees for the world championship, confirmed that the International Jiu-Jitsu Federation is in the process of adopting a unified system for classifying belts.
“At present, each country follows the rules set by the regional federation to which it belongs,” he said. “The International Federation has now taken a crucial step towards standardising the classification of belts for federations around the world. We will issue a special rulebook in this regard.”
“The classification system used in the UAE is a model to follow and we have taken the initiative to provide all the technical details related to this system to the International Federation,” Nascimento said. “At first, we will give certificates exclusively for the black belt holders, and eventually, we will grant other certificates as well, which will motivate athletes to reach higher levels.”