Faisal Al Ketbi leads strong UAE squad at Asian Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Bahrain

The UAE national jiu-jitsu team get their 2022 international calendar schedule underway with the sixth Asian Championships in Bahrain, starting on Monday.

Men’s squad: Faisal Al Ketbi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Kathiri, Thiab Al Nuaimi, Khaled Al Shehhi, Mohamed Ali Al Suwaidi, Farraj Khaled Al Awlaqi, Muhammad Al Ameri, Mahdi Al Awlaqi, Saeed Al Qubaisi, Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Hazaa Farhan

Women's squad: Hamda Al Shekheili, Shouq Al Dhanhani, Balqis Abdullah, Sharifa Al Namani, Asma Al Hosani, Maitha Sultan, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Maha Al Hanaei, Shamma Al Kalbani, Haya Al Jahuri, Mahra Mahfouz, Marwa Al Hosani, Tasneem Al Jahoori and Maryam Al Amri

It’s an important year for the Emirati athletes with both the World Games in Birmingham, USA, in July and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, in September.

Faisal Al Ketbi, the most decorated Emirati jiu-jitsu fighter in history who leads the team of 12 male and 14 female fighters in Bahrain, believes the sport has come of age in the UAE and the squad is fully prepared ahead of the continental event.

“We now have a more professional setup and the training is a continuation of the work we put in every year,” Al Ketbi who competes in the 94-kilogram division told The National.

“It’s indeed an important year for jiu-jitsu starting with the Asian Championship, and then the World Games and the Asian Games, aside from many other international competitions including both the Abu Dhabi World Professional Championship and Jiu-Jitsu International Federation’s World Championships.”

The immediate task for Al Ketbi and his team is to win as many medals as possible in the Asian Championship.

“Obviously the objective is to top the medals table, which we a very hopeful of achieving,” Al