Faisal Al Ketbi led Baniyas to a hat-trick of Jiu-Jitsu President’s Cup titles at Zayed Sports City on Sunday.
The nation’s most decorated jiu-jitsu star led from the front at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena by winning all his three fights against the Brazilians Guilherme Guedes of Sharjah (by submission), Catriel Rodrigues of Al Jazira (points) and Yatan Bueno of Al Wahda (points).
“The President’s Cup is the most prestigious domestic club title and we are absolutely delighted to win it for the third time,” Al Ketbi told The National.
“As athletes, we are really proud to participate in this competition, regardless of winning the title.
“Not only that, as a team event, it brings a new challenge, meaning we have to depend on our teammates to win in order to become champions. We can say the success is because of the teamwork.
“For this, we need to bring a different kind of strategy and need to prepare the best combination to achieve the desired results from the seven different weight categories.”
Al Ketbi said the format of the competition provides the national team coaches with the opportunity to scout for players in the different weight categories.
“This year’s competition was staged in three different age categories U16, U18 and adults, which [helps] the national team coaches to shortlist the prospective players in different age categories and weight divisions,” he added.
Al Ketbi also pointed out the challenges of fasting and competing during Ramadan.
“It is a big challenge as we had to compete against some of those who weren’t fasting during the day,” he said,
“We had to break fast around 6.45pm and then compete at 9pm. It was hard but we managed to keep ourselves in good shape to compete. Fasting is about disciplining ourselves to achieve our objective.
“Overall we enjoyed the two days of competition because we were the winners. We had best preparation, best strategy and the best way to recover from every fight to maintain the perfect record in this prestigious championship for three years in a row.”
Al Wahda and Al Ain finished second and third.
Baniyas completed the double with the women’s team emerging as winners above Wahda and Sharjah Self Defence Sports Club.
“Honestly, winning the championship was an incomparable feeling,” said Baniyas’ UAE women’s international Maitha Shraim, who overcame her national team colleague Hessa Al Shamsi, of Wahda.
Honestly, winning the championship was an incomparable feeling
Maitha Shraim - Baniyas
Abdulmunan Al Hashemi, chairman of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation said having the competition under three age categories was a game-changer.
“It provided an opportunity for the players to shine and the team’s technical staff will have drawn great insights into their players,” he said.
Fahad Al Shamsi, general secretary of the UAEJJF, added: “The President's Cup has seen incredible success in the past three weeks and this event has established a strong platform for all jiu-jitsu enthusiasts across the emirates.
“The tournament was a big success this year, with more clubs, academies and players participating than ever before. We've seen a rise, too, in the number of families and parents encouraging their children to join in this sport.”
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium, Malayisa
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia on October 10
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RESULTS
Men – semi-finals
57kg – Tak Chuen Suen (MAC) beat Phuong Xuan Nguyen (VIE) 29-28; Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) by points 30-27.
67kg – Mohammed Mardi (UAE) beat Huong The Nguyen (VIE) by points 30-27; Narin Wonglakhon (THA) v Mojtaba Taravati Aram (IRI) by points 29-28.
60kg – Yerkanat Ospan (KAZ) beat Amir Hosein Kaviani (IRI) 30-27; Long Doan Nguyen (VIE) beat Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) 29-28
63.5kg – Abil Galiyev (KAZ) beat Truong Cao Phat (VIE) 30-27; Nouredine Samir (UAE) beat Norapat Khundam (THA) RSC round 3.
71kg – Shaker Al Tekreeti (IRQ) beat Fawzi Baltagi (LBN) 30-27; Amine El Moatassime (UAE) beat Man Kongsib (THA) 29-28
81kg – Ilyass Hbibali (UAE) beat Alexandr Tsarikov (KAZ) 29-28; Khaled Tarraf (LBN) beat Mustafa Al Tekreeti (IRQ) 30-27
86kg – Ali Takaloo (IRI) beat Mohammed Al Qahtani (KSA) RSC round 1; Emil Umayev (KAZ) beat Ahmad Bahman (UAE) TKO round
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
The specs
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Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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Director: Chris Winterbauer
Stars: Lana Condor and Cole Sprouse
Rating: 3/5
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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THREE
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Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump and Other Pieces 1986-2016
Martin Amis,
Jonathan Cape
