The UAE’s jiu-jitsu team has returned from Brazil, and the latest Abu Dhabi Grand Slam tournament, where they picked up 12 medals.
The UAE team won a total of seven gold medals thanks to Zayed Al Mansouri, Naser Al Breiki, Zayed Al Breiki, Ibrahim Al Naqbi, Yahya Al Hammadi (two medals including open) and Mohammed Al Qubaisi.
Silver medals went to Saeed Al Shamsi and Naser Al Breiki (open) while three bronze medals were awarded to Mohammed Al Hameli, Hamdan Al Blooshi and Zayed Al Breiki (open).
The third leg of the tournament took place from 5-6 December 2015 at the HSBC Arena, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and saw a number of jiu-jitsu fighters from the UAE topple their opponents from across the globe.
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UAE took a strong lineup of fighters who competed in the blue, brown, black, white and purple categories.
The team comprised of Saif Salem Al Qubaisi, Mohamed Naser Al Qubaisi, Fahed Ayed AlATeibi, Yahia Masoor Al Hamadi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Ibrahim Abdalla AlNaqbi, Saeed Al Shamsi, Mohamed Faraj Al Hameli, Hamda Alblooshi, Naser Omar Al Breiki, Zayed Omar Al Breiki, Abdulla Omar Al Ali, and Faisal Fahad Al Ketbi.
Elsewhere in the field, Marina Ribeiro won a gold medal in the Female Black Adult category, while Jiddu Limos and Rafael Carvalho also won two gold medals each in the Black Adult category.
Leonardo Peçanha also brought home 3 gold medals in the Male Black Master 1 category, and Flavio Serafin won two gold medals in the Male Black Master 2 category.
His Excellency Abdulmunam Al Hashemi, chairman of the UAE Jiu-jitsu Federation said: “What we witnessed in Rio was nothing short of incredible and I would personally like to say a huge congratulations and thanks to everyone who took part.
Jiu-jitsu players in #ADGrandSlam thank HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his continous support. pic.twitter.com/fsqxIzUZxd
— UAEJJF (@uaejjf) December 7, 2015
“People may not realise the enormous amount of work that goes into becoming a jiu-jitsu champion. Fighters typically train a minimum of six hours a day and, as Rio proves, the hard work of our UAE fighters paid off. They took on the best in the world and came out the other side as victors.
“Tournaments like this really do help spread the word about the sheer magic of jiu-jistu and we can actually learn a lot from it as a martial art. For example, it teaches you everything you need to know to be successful in life, such as the values of integrity, respect and an unconquerable spirit.
“An unconquerable spirit is what defines Abu Dhabi Grand Slam as a world class event and I see a great future for the tournament.”
