Moosa emerges on top in open
By Amith Passela
18 December 2006
ABU DHABI — Hassan Moosa turned in a virtuoso performance to claim the open crown and his own weight division to emerge the champion in the weekend’s third Emirates Cup Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Open here the UAE Wrestling and Judo Federation auditorium.
The Tunisian who represented his country in the 2000 Sydney Olympics in judo and now the UAE national coach beat Sweidan Al Dhaheri in the 78kgs and under weight division and then overcame Eid Rehan, last year’s winner of the 99kgs and over category, in the open division.
Shaikh Zayed bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was guest of honour and gave away the awards in the presence of Major General Mohammed Hilal Al Kaabi, deputy chief of staff of the UAE Armed Forces, and Mohammed bin Thaloob Al Darei, president of the UAE Wrestling and Judo Federation.
Moosa said the competition was tougher than the two previous editions but he was better prepared this time. “I had to work harder on the technicalities of the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu art of combat having competed twice before in the competition.
“The competition was definitely tougher with so many fighters arriving from outside the UAE besides those who are here being much sharper having trained especially for this competition.
Jordanian Zaid Mirza got the better of Bahrain based Frenchman Yan Chiffoleau in the super fight to walk away with a cheque for $1,200. The host team took the team title from Jordan and Bahrain.
The competition staged under the patronage of Shaikh Zayed bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and sponsored by Armed Forces Officers Club had a total purse of Dh 55,000.
The event manager Carlos Santos said the championship was a highly successful one and he now looked forward to the second Abu Dhabi International on May 4 and 5 for a purse of $ 20,000.
“The Emirates Open has set the springboard the trend to popularise and develop Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the region and the response for the third edition of this competition has grown significantly. We received more than 150 entries and are looking forward for the Abu Dhabi International.”
RESULTS: 64kgs and Under: 1. Ali Salem. 2. Rashed Humaid. 3. Badran Mahmood (Bah). 4. Seena Monfradi (Bah). 71kgs and Under: 1. Abdulla Al Sheikh (Bah). 2. Dawood Qutub (Jor). 3. Mohammed Bablisi (Jor). 4. Suhail Mohammed. 78kgs and Under: 1. Hassan Moosa (Tun). 2. Sweidan Al Dhahiri. 3. Stewart Berk (UK). 4. Odai Kurdi (Jor). 85kgs and Under: 1. Mohammed Mirza (Jor). 2. Omar Salfiti (Jor). 3. Mahmood Abdulla (Egy). 4. Lifei Vali (Rom). 92kgs and Under: 1. Gazi Minhali. 2. Ammar Al Hamed (Pal). 3. Mansur Faadel. 4. Abdulla Al Ketbi. 99kgs and Under: 1. Yahya Mansoor. 2. Abdul Rahman Hamed. 3. Bader Awad. 4. Mohammed Abdulla. 99kgs and Over: 1. Amin Touati (Swe). 2. Ali Al Zein (Egy). 3. Daniel Stewart. 4. Ahmed Al Ketbi. Open Class: 1. Hassan Moosa (Tun). 2. Eid Rehan. 3. Al Al Zein (Egy). 4. Nicholas Holt (UK) Super Bout: Zaid Mirza (Jor) bt Yan Chiffoleau (Fra). Team standings: 1. UAE. 2. Jordan. Bahrain.
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