After racking up two silver medals from four Jiu-Jitsu Grand Slam appearances, Faisal Al Ketbi believes he has reached the optimum level in one year since being elevated to the black belt.
The Emirati grabbed his second silver on Saturday at the Grand Slam London, the fourth and final leg of the Abu Dhabi World Tour after Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Rio de Janeiro.
Al Ketbi was stopped by Brazilian Erberth Santos Mesquita in the 94-kilogramme final after his semi-final victory over Marksmilian Wismewski of Poland on advantage points 2-1 earned from a take down and a mount.
“I think I can take a lot of positives forward from this result, this being my first year in the black belt,” said Al Ketbi, who also won a silver at the Grand Slam Tokyo on August 29.
“All the competitors in the black belt have been around longer than me in the circuit. So for me, it’s more of gaining experience but I’m reasonably happy with my progress.
“The London event was also my final competition ahead of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Championships. It was a good feeling to reach the final and I am now looking ahead for the Abu Dhabi event.”
The ninth staging of the Abu Dhabi World Pro will be April 15-24 at the IPIC Arena at the Zayed Sports City.
Read more UAE jiu-jitsu news:
Emirati jiu-jitsu medal hopeful Faisal Al Ketbi confident he can compete with elite at black belt
Abu Dhabi has been integral to jiu-jitsu’s sharp rise as a global Martial Art
In London, the UAE won nine gold, five silver, and two bronze medals from the 70 finals in various divisions and weight categories.
The most notable of the gold medal-winning performances for the Emiratis came from Yahya Al Mansouri in the Brown Masters-1 Open division. It was his third gold after Los Angeles and Rio.
“It’s been an incredible last two years for me,” Al Mansouri said. “It hasn’t been easy, though. Every competition is a new start and you need to be on top of your game to win.
“I’m happy I have been able to do that and hopefully I can defend my Abu Dhabi title next.”
Read more: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship: 5,000 fighters from 100 countries will compete
Ricardo Evangelista, the Abu Dhabi-based Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor, completed a double gold by winning the +94kg and the absolute class, to follow up his Slam double-gold at both Los Angeles and Rio.
Before travelling to London, Evangelista declared the absolute class belt in the World Pro to remain in Abu Dhabi, and he certainly seems to be on course to fulfilling that promise.
Meanwhile at the Al Ain Championships, Leonardo de Pecanha made most of the absent stars taking part at the Grand Slam London to complete a double by winning the black belt +94kg weight and the absolute class.
The competition at the Garden City also drew strong contingents from Colombia, Russia, Chile and Panama, all making use of the opportunity to prepare for next month’s World Pro.
The Colombians were the most successful, returning with a haul of five gold, seven silver and nine bronze medals. The Russians won five gold, five silver and one bronze while the Chileans grabbed two gold.
The Brazilians once again dominated the black belt open division, winning all three prizes for men that were up for grabs.
apassela@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
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
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Esperance de Tunis 0
Al Ain 3 (Ahmed 02’, El Shahat 17’, Al Ahbabi 60’)
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Results
2.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Mezmar, Adam McLean (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m; Winner: AF Ajwad, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Gold Silver, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel.
4pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m; Winner: Atrash, Richard Mullen, Ana Mendez.
4.30pm: Gulf Cup Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Momtaz, Saif Al Balushi, Musabah Al Muhairi.
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Al Mushtashar, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
