The UAE proved they are a force to be reckoned with after claiming eight medals in the Open Weight divisions at the 2015 Abu Dhabi World Professional World Championship, which concluded at the IPIC Arena on Saturday.
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Yahia Mansour (Purple Master 1), Mohammed Darwish (white), Obaid Kaabi (Blue Master 2) and Ahmad Al Ketbi (Purple Master 2) took gold on the final day, while Taleb Saleh (Brown Master 1) and Jassim Mubarak (White Blue Master 2) won silver.
Completing the haul with bronze medals were Mohammed Al Qubaisi (Purple Master 1) and Naser Barshid (white) as the UAE ended their campaign with an overall medal haul of 22.
It was a strong show by the hosts, despite the absence of UAE’s topranked Faisal Al Ketbi, who pulled out of the black belt open weight with injury.
For Mansour, yesterday’s triumph was his second in two days after claiming the +95kg golf on Friday. The Emirati defeated Sebastian Jan Szyszka 4-0 in the final and he was pleased to have overcome the strong Polish competitor.
We are LIVE @ the magnificent @ZayedSportsCity where the Abu Dhabi #jiu-jitsu championship is underway. What a crowd! pic.twitter.com/nZ6LZfzqTy
— Sport360° (@Sport360) April 25, 2015
“Szyszka was a very strong guy and has won several medals before,” said Mansour, who will now move up to brown belt. “I had seen how he performed against Mohammad Al Qubaisi in the semi-finals and so I changed my fighting style to beat him.
“I will now be preparing for the World Championship in the US next month. I want to carry this form there and do well.”
Despite losing to Brazil’s Thiago Dutra in the final, 32-year-old Saleh was thrilled to win silver.
“It is a great honour to win this. It’s a big thing for me. Any competition is never easy and this championship was certainly tough as the world’s best are here in Abu Dhabi,” he said. “The matches were difficult but I just remained calm and worked hard on my strategies.”
After winning silver in the female white adult +75kg on Friday, Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum was unable to add another after losing to eventual title winner Philippines’ Ramona Pascual in the first round.
