Abu Dhabi // Nasser Mohammed al Dhahiri fell just short of winning a gold medal in his first major jiu-jitsu competition.
The 16-year-old Emirati made it to the final of the 61kg and under weight class in the inaugural Abu Dhabi Junior Championship but was beaten by Carlos Lozoya from Las Vegas, United States.
The 15-year-old American ended the bout at the National Exhibition Centre yesterday with a submission lock on the Al Ain Military School student.
"I met one who was better than all others," al Dhahiri said after the fight. "He was younger and smaller than me, but I was surprised by his strength and excellent fighting skills.
"Before the fight I only knew that I was up against an American. But having been told of his background, I feel I was fortunate to meet him in the final. But this is my first competition and I will learn from this experience.
"I have been in jiu-jitsu less than a year and now I know what to expect in competitions. I love this sport and my ambition from now will be to fight in the World Professional Championship."
Lozoya, a student of Sergio Penha, a seventh degree red and black belt, the highest honour in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, said: "It was a great experience for me to participate in the first competition outside Las Vegas. I was a bit nervous at the beginning as this was the first time I was live on TV and in front of a big crowd behind my opponent. But once the fight started, all those thoughts were forgotten and I went about doing my work the best way I could.
"I can't say it was my toughest fight but definitely it was hard as I had to fight five times within a short period of time to win the gold medal. But going by what I hear from my new Emirati friends, jiu-jitsu is on the right track here.
"I believe most of them have hardly trained for six months for this competition. But they will improve with regular competition and this is a pretty good start because it is bigger and more glamorous than the competitions we have in Las Vegas."
Lozoya travelled with Penha and his coach's son Eduardo, who won the gold in the 56kg and under weight division.
Eduardo wants to follow in the footsteps of his famous father. He said: "I didn't need any introduction to the sport because it was already in my blood. I hope to continue and reach a good level."
Obaid Rashid Obaid, the winner of the over 86kg category, said he participated in the competition after four months of training.
"I started to like it after attending a couple of lessons at the school," said Obaid, another student from the Military High School in Al Ain.
"Now I am fully into jiu-jitsu and like many others in this competition, I want to fight in the World Professional Championship."
Obaid edged out his Military School colleague Ibrahim Hamad al Kalban by two points in the final.
Abdulla and Abdulrahman Kharbash are twins from Dubai and they went home with a bronze and silver respectively.
Abdulla was al Dhahiri's semi-final opponent and he was forced to retire after hurting his left elbow.
Abdulrahman claimed silver after being beaten by Rashid al Shamsi in the final of the 71kg category.
