The event, part of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, proved to be a big hit with 1.286 girls, ranging from four to 17-years of age, taking to the mat in different age and weight categories at the IPIC Arena. They fought for 200 gold, 200 silver and 300 bronze medals.
Among the winners was Lola Martinez, who took gold in the 26.5kg. Competing in the grey belt, the Spaniard did enough to defeat Amna Al Rumaithi.
“This is a great achievement for me,” said the eight-year-old. “This is my first medal in a big tournament and I want to become even better now.”
For Anoud Salah it was a day to remember after tasting success in the 58kg white belt division.
The 13-year-old has only started playing the sport for just over a year but showed no signs of nerves to claim gold.
“This is a new sport for me, but it feels amazing to win gold,” said the Al Buroof (Al Ain) pupil.
“It was nice to get out there and show my qualities in front of my friends and coach and it’s awesome to have been part of this competition and to perform well.”
200 gold, silver & bronze medals awarded on Day 1 of #ADWPJJC16. Visit us tomorrow @ #IPICArena to see more winners pic.twitter.com/A6QrDv3RYx
— UAEJJF (@uaejjf) April 15, 2016
She added: “Now this has given me a lot of inspiration that I can do well in this sport and for sure I want to win a lot more medals.”
Salah was one of 13 girls from her school to win medals and her coach Veronica Queiroz was pleased with their effort .
“I’m really proud of all of them because they gave their best and I couldn’t have asked for more,” said the delighted coach.
Another young star who was on top of the podium was Juwairia Ismail. The 14-year-old took gold in the +66.5kg grey belt division after winning her two bouts.
Hope you enjoyed an action-packed day! Join us tomorrow for more thrills on the mat @11am #ADWPJJC16 #InAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/gsXhKb9Dmp
— UAEJJF (@uaejjf) April 15, 2016
“I’m very happy to win this and this is very special,” said the Samha School pupil. “It was quite easy but still I need to be on top of my game because in sport you always need to focus.”
It was also a day to remember for Al Hasoon School as all of their 10 girls won medals with six golds and four silvers.
Coach Anna Carolina Lima was thrilled by the success of her students and insists it will give them a lot of confidence going into tomorrow’s World Youth Cup.
“We are very happy with our success,” she said. “They are all very excited. They came to the competition to also prepare for the championship later. They had a spring camp during the school break and they came to sharpen their skills but the real one is on Sunday.”
Saturday sees the World Festival draw to a close with the boys’ category, while the World Youth Cup begins the following day.
