The UAE won a gold and three silvers from the three jiu-jitsu finals at the Asian Games on the opening day of the martial arts competition at the Xiaoshan Linpu Gymnasium on Thursday.
Khaled Al Shehi struck gold in an all-UAE final by defeating Khalid Al Balooshi in the 62-kilogram weight. Mohamed Al Suwaidi in the 69kg and Balqees Abdulla Al Hashemi in the women’s 48kg returned with silver.
Al Suwaidi had to settle for silver after going down to Nurzhan Batyrbekov of Kazakhstan. Al Hashemi was narrowly beaten by Margarita Ochoa of the Philippines on advantage points in the women’s 48kg final.
The hardest part for Al Shehi was to reach the final and make it an all-Emirati affair against his teammate.
“After securing the gold at the Asian Championship this year, I made a promise that I would win the gold at the Asian Games,” Al Shehi said.
“I am glad to have fulfilled my promise, and I will not cease training or rest until I achieve gold at the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship in November.
“It is truly an unforgettable moment in my life, filled with overwhelming joy. Tears welled up in my eyes because I had longed for this moment for a long time. I thank God that I have finally reached it. We must always cherish this moment, representing the flag.”
Al Shehi got the better of Mongolian Erdenebaatar Ulziitogtokh by submission in round of 16. He got into the last eight defeating Jordanian Khalil Arnaout by another submission hold and then edged out Kazakh Mansur Khabibulla by advantage points in the semi-final.
Al Balooshi added: “The programmes initiated by our federation for spreading and developing the sport and creating champions have led to the results we witnessed today.
“I am proud of today’s achievement, especially since in the final, I competed against my own teammate, Khaled. When it’s an all-Emirati final, the UAE is the biggest winner.”
Al Hashemi, 19, put up a creditable show in losing against the 2022 Jiu-Jitsu International Union world champion Ochoa, 30, by an advantage point.
“I had hoped to win the gold, but it was a tough fight, and my opponent was a black belt holder with far more experience on the mat,” Al Hashemi said.
“Nevertheless, it was a valuable experience and has provided me with many lessons that I can carry forward and apply to my performance in upcoming tournaments.”
Three more gold medals are up for grabs on Friday, and the UAE have competitors in the women’s 52kg and 57kg, and in the men's 77kg.
