Abu Dhabi: Emirati youngsters impressed at the Jiu Jitsu Grand Slam Los Angeles with 14 gold medals, 12 silvers and seven bronze.
Leading from the front at the Los Angeles Convention Centre was Khalifa Nassrati, the 18-year-old with stubbed fingers, battling all odds to clinch a double gold in the adult 62kg weight and the para jiu-jitsu Class 13.
Nassrati won silver on his debut at the adult level in the Grand Slam Tokyo in July, the opening leg of the five World Tour events.
“The competition in Los Angeles was a lot tougher with the majority of entries being from the United States and South America. My experience in Tokyo came in handy. I had enough time to prepare between the two competitions. My objective is to return to the senior national team with good results like I achieved in LA,” said Nassrati adding that it was a tough call for him with more than a pool of 40 fighters in the senior national squad.
“I want to compete at the highest level and I feel I have already proved the handicap is not a hindrance on my progress in jiu-jitsu. I didn’t want to compete in the handicap category but it so happened that they had a category that I could take part. It was also a team decision, and when you have a chance to win a second gold, I thought, why not, go for it,” added Nassrati, who represents Al Ain locally.
Gold Medal winners in the Juvenile blue belt division: Khalifa Al Kaabi (60kg), Humaid Al Kaabi (81kg) Salem Sultan Al Daheri (55kg), and Hessa Al Shamsi (57kg - female), Salem Sultan Al Dhaheri (55kg), Khalifa Al Kaabi (60kg) and Hessa Al Shamsi (57kg - female).
The other adults gold winners: Abdulla Al Kubaisi (94kg), Ahmad Bazuhair (85kg), and Ahmad Omar (110kg) all in the white belt, and Jabir Abdullah (white-77kg), Naser Samtar (white-85kg), Zainallah Al Kurbi (blue-62kg), Abdulla Al Senaani (blue-77kg), Mohammad Radhi (purple-69kg), and Musabbeh Al Kathiri (brown-69kg), in the Masters-1.
