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Forty-two countries have confirmed their participation in the Abu Dhabi Judo Grand Slam 2021, organised by the UAE Wrestling & Judo Federation, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council. The championship will begin on Friday and run until Sunday, 28th November, at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena in Abu Dhabi.
The participants will include 234 competitors from 42 countries, who will attend the tournament’s draw on Thursday in Al Wahda Millenium Hotel in Abu Dhabi virtually. The participating countries include three Arab countries, which are the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Morocco. Also, last year’s winners Japan, as well as Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Taiwan, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, the UK, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, the US and Uzbekistan.
The UAE youth team include Khalifa Al Hosani, who is participating in the under 73-kilogramme weight category, and Ali Hassan Al Darmaki in the over 100-kg weight category. This is in addition to eight young competitors under the age of 20 in different weight categories, who are Ahmed Jassim Al Thumairi, Ali Al Yamahi, Ahmed Faisal Al Naqbi, Saeed Khamis Al Naqbi, Mosbeh Al Shamsi, Issa Al Badri, Harib Abdul Rahman Jumaa and Rashid Al Hosani, supervised by Japanese coach Ashida Koki.
Marius Vizer, President of the International Judo Federation, lauded the UAE’s hosting of the Abu Dhabi Garand Salam 2021. “The UAE has the required capacities to organise all types of events in an impressive way. We have shown our solidarity and cohesion during the coronavirus pandemic, and the Abu Dhabi event coincides with many major events in the UAE.”