All photos by Ane Nunes/Gentle Art Media
[Press release.]
Another day, another set of medalists writing their names in Jiu-Jitsu history. The Saturday at the Jakarta Convention Center was of packed stands to watch three more divisions crown their champions in a day filled with thrills. The Women’s -62kg and the Men’s -62kg and -94kg divisions more than delivered the action the crowd was expecting. Here’s how each weight class played out this Saturday.
Male
-62kg
Kazakhstan’s Darkhan Nortayev did everything right to reach the top of the podium. The final match alone was a fierce battle against Omar Alfadhli, from the UAE. The six-minute match was fought inch by inch as both fighters did not want to give the other the space to score. Nortayev was able to almost take Omar’s back in the very end to score the winning second advantage that set the score on a 2-1. Before that, Nortayev beat Said Almazrquei (UAE) 4-0 in the semifinals, outscored Kyrgzstan’s Abdyldabek Kekenov 2-0 in the quarterfinals and Philippine’s Carlos Pena 2-0 in the eight finals.
Podium
1st – Darkhan Nortayev (KAZ)
2nd – Omar Alfadhli (UAE)
3rd – Said Almazrquei (UAE)
3rd – Freeh Alharahsheh (JOR)
-94kg
The UAE won its second gold medal in Jiu-Jitsu with Faisal Alketbi. He fought four times this Saturday to claim the gold medal. The final match was a close war against Jordan’s Zaid Sami. The result came only through referees decision after a 0-0 tie. The refs voted unanimously in favor of Faisal. Before that, Alketbi beat South Korea’s Myengse Hwang 2-0 on advantages in the semifinal, finished Muhamad Noor, from Indonesia, with a wrist lock in the quarterfinals and beat Bahrain’s Mohamed Ghareeb 3-0 with a guard pass in the eight finals
Podium
1st – Faisal Alketbi (UAE)
2nd – Zaid Sami (JOR)
3rd – Rizat Makhashev (KAZ)
3rd – Myengse Hwang (KOR)
Female
-62kg
South Korea’s Kira Sung was a sight to be seen this Saturday in Jakarta. She fought each match with the maximum intensity. In the final, she beat Singapore’s Tian Lien 4-2 in a tough war. Before that, Sung passed the guard of Udval Tsogkhuu, of Mongolia, to win 5-0 in the semifinals; she outscored Jordan’s Yara Kakish 2-0 in the quarterfinals; beat Thailand’s Orapa Senathan 26-0 in the eight finals; and blew out Philipine’s Annie Ramirez 21-0 in the round of 16.
Podium
1st – Kira Sung (KOR)
2nd – Tian Lien (SGP)
3rd – Yara Kakish (JOR)
3rd – Udval Tsogkhuu (MGL)
Jiu-Jitsu returns this Sunday for the final day of competitions. Two divisions for men go into play: -77kg and -85kg. Click here for more info and the complete results so far.
