UAE dominate Jiu-Jitsu Youth World Championships

UAE were crowned champions of the Jiu-Jitsu International Federation (JJIF) Youth World Championships for the fourth consecutive year after a remarkable final day in which they won seven golds.

They scooped seven gold, five silver and three bronze medals in the U21 division on the final day of the four-day championships to take their tally to 46 medals - 15 gold, 12 silver and 19 bronze - at Kazakhstan's capital Astana on Friday.

Kazakhstan (13g, 18s and 37b) finished second ahead of Germany (9, 11, 9), Greece (8, 6, 25), and Romania (6, 5, 14).

The Russian federation, competing under the JJIF flag (31, 22, 43), topped the medals table but were not included in the championships.

Omar Al Suwaidi (56kg), Khaled Al Shehhi (62kg), Faraj Al Awlaqi (77kg), and Abdulrahman Al Shimmari (85kg), all clinched gold for the UAE in the men’s U21 division.

Aysha Al Shamsi (45kg), Balqees Al Hashemi (48kg), and Shamma Al Kalbani (63kg) won their respective finals in the women’s U21 category.

The Emirati youths thus completed a double following victory in the JJIF senior championships in Mongolia last month.

Al Shehhi, Al Kalbani, and Al Hashemi proved their mettle by winning gold in both the youth and senior championships.

UAE's Shamma Al Kalbani on the podium after winning gold in the women’s 63kg division. Photo: UAEJJF

Al Shehhi, who won the 62kg category gold medal, said: “I can’t describe how happy I am to win two gold medals in Kazakhstan and Mongolia in just one month.

“These wins show that hard work, determination, and not giving up are so important. Even though the fights were tough, we never stopped trying.”

Al Hashemi added: “I can’t put into words how amazing it feels to win and to have the national flag around me.

“I want