ABU DHABI // Saeed Ahmed Al Haj has lost count of how many gold medals he has won in jiu-jitsu, but he is sure he has never lost a match since taking up the sport more than four years ago.
The 10th-grade pupil from Khalid bin Waleed School-Al Ain continued his gold medal plunder in the fifth Abu Dhabi National Schools Championships at the Du Forum on Yas Island on Thursday.
Al Haj, 16, got the better of Mohammed Ali Messabi of Al Ruwad School in the blue belt juvenile 81-kilogram division to extend his winning streak to four in four years in the event.
“The final was a bit hard, but that was expected because everyone in the game is raising their levels all the time,” Al Haj said.
His opponent in the final Messabi, said: “He is strong and possesses good technique. He is also in the national age group team and the favourite in the category.
“It was my second meeting with him in a competition, and I thought I did better than our first meeting.”
Al Haj won four gold medals in four years in the Abu Dhabi Children’s World Cup and returned with a gold from the American National Kids Championships in California last October.
“My ambition is to become a black belt and represent the country at the highest level. I train with the national age-group squad’s high-performance team five days a week, and I’m very hopeful in fulfilling my dreams,” he said.
Al Haj was spotted as a potential medal-winner by the school’s Brazilian coach, Eduardo Belluomini.
“Jiu-jitsu is in the school’s curriculum, hence everyone has to attend two lessons per week.
“We have more than 800 pupils, and those with potential and willingness to continue are shortlisted to train for competitions,” he said.
“Saeed was among them and he made a good first impression. He was physically strong even at that time and above all was a quick learner. I told him he had a good future and to continue with the sport.
“He has progressed and progressed over the years to such a good level and is now training with the national team’s high-performance team. I can say he will go places if he continues to work hard.”
Al Haj said he was not very keen to seriously pursue the sport during his first few lessons but continued on the insistence of his coach.
“Now I have dedicated all my time for jiu-jitsu,” he said. “I am thinking big. I have big dreams and I work with these dreams in my mind. I want to keep winning for myself and my country.”
Such was the level of competition that not all the national age-group team members were as successful as Al Haj.
Ahmed Al Rejaibi, a gold medallist at the Jiu-Jitsu International Federation’s Junior World Championships in Greece in March and the European Junior Championships in January, was beaten by Hussain Qassim Al Yafeai in the blue belt juvenile 61.5kg division.
Khalifa bin Zayed School-Al Ain emerged overall winners with five gold medals, one silver, and four bronze. Abdul Qader Al Jazaeri School and Al Maqam-Al Ain finished second and third, respectively.
“We had 14 boys and to win 10 medals was an outstanding result overall,” said Jefferson Gondran, the winning school’s Brazilian coach.
“It was the second time in two years we topped the medals tally. It is the reward for the hard work put in from the boys, and a proud moment for them and the school.”
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