The UAE national jiu-jitsu team, sponsored by Mubadala Investment Company, continued to shine at the third edition of the Asian Jiu-Jitsu Youth and Juniors Championship, held at the Almaty Arena in Almaty, Kazakhstan, adding 13 medals in the under-21 category competitions — comprising 8 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze — reaffirming its dominant presence on the continental stage and its continued excellence across all age groups.
This achievement is an extension of the UAE's strategic approach, backed by its wise leadership, to developing the sport of jiu-jitsu through investment in people and the creation of a comprehensive environment for producing champions. The UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation continues to pursue its vision of expanding the base of practitioners, discovering national talent, and developing it in line with the best global practices.
The gold medals were won by Dana Al Braiki in the under-45 kg category, Al Anoud Al Harbi in under-48 kg, Aisha Al Junaibi in under-63 kg, Abdulrahman Al Najjar in over-94 kg, Obaid Al Kitbi in under-56 kg, Abdulrahman Abdulhaq in under-62 kg, Ahmed Andiz in under-69 kg, and Abdulaziz Al Uqaidi in under-77 kg. Maryam Al Ali claimed silver in under-45 kg, and Abdulrahman Sidna silver in under-56 kg, while Mira Al Housni took bronze in under-48 kg, Faisal Al Wahidi bronze in under-69 kg, and Dhiab Al Junaibi bronze in under-94 kg.
The team's results were the product of a distinguished technical performance marked by tactical discipline and mental readiness, as the athletes successfully handled the varied styles of their opponents, managed the flow of bouts with awareness and confidence, balanced offensive initiative with maintaining advantage, and made the right decisions at decisive moments.
The under-21 results raised the UAE team's overall championship tally to 40 medals — 15 gold, 9 silver, and 16 bronze — having previously secured 27 medals across the under-16 and under-18 categories.
Mubarak Saleh Al Manhaali, Director of Technical Affairs at the UAE Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts Federation, said the results achieved by the team in the under-21 competitions reflect the quality of the preparation programmes adopted by the federation and confirm the athletes' ability to deploy their technical and mental experience against some of the continent's top competitors.