Brazilian champions Almeida, Garcia returning for Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Championships

Marcus Almeida and Gabrielle Garcia will return to Abu Dhabi to defend their titles at the sixth edition of the championships at First Gulf Bank Arena in Zayed Sports City in April.

The 2013 Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Championships were held at the National Exhibition Centre. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court
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ABU DHABI // Defending champions Marcus Almeida and Gabrielle Garcia will return to headline a cast of the world’s best fighters at this year’s Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Championships.

The presence of the Brazilian pair was confirmed at the launch of what will be the sixth championships, scheduled from April 15-19 and to be held at the new, purpose-built First Gulf Bank Arena in Zayed Sports City.

Almeida pulled off an upset in last year’s tournament, beating the heavily-favoured Rudolfo Vieira for his first gold medal in the men’s open weight black belt. Garcia is a familiar face in Abu Dhabi, her easy win in the final last year bringing her a fifth successive gold medal in the women’s championships.

This year’s event has added a day to its programme, to accommodate an expected increase in the number of participants in the Children’s Cup. As many as 50 children from eight different countries will take part over the two days.

“Each and every year the championship has grown and this year proves to be one of our most anticipated one yet,” said Abdulmunam Al Hashemi, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Federation. “In April, not only will we proudly welcome the very best in the world to Abu Dhabi, we will warmly throw open the doors to our new home, the FGB Arena.”

Organisers are expecting over 700 participants from around the world and across various weight and belt divisions. Up to 17 qualifying tournaments are either about to begin, or already have done, across the Americas, Europe and Asia and a full roster of the fighters will be finalised by the beginning of next month.

The UAE won six gold medals last year – a record haul for the country – and their best hopes will again revolve around Faisal Al Ketbi. Arguably the country’s best fighter and, in the words of the organisers, “an icon”, Al Ketbi was responsible for last year’s most stirring moment, a last-gasp gold medal win in the 100kg brown belt category.

“Most of our fighters have been preparing hard for this in a number of camps and have reached a competitive standard,” Al Hashemi said. “We want to have a sustainable pool of talent and have been preparing a second, third, fourth and fifth team. The team is ready and we hope the championships will give us a good measure of our quality and achievements.”

This year’s tournament will also see enhanced prize money on offer, up from Dh1.45 million last year to Dh1.56m.

osamiuddin@thenational.ae