Tokyo, Japan, 29th July, 2018: Abu Dhabi Grand Slam® returned to Tokyo for the first leg of Season 4 [2018-19], where top athletes in all belt and weight categories from all over the world gathered at the OTA Gymnasium for a full day of action on the nine mats. Lucrative cash prizes of over $125,000 were on the line for the competitors.
The event began with the national anthem of United Arab Emirates and Japan in the presence of UAEJJF board member, Mr. Mansour Al Dhaheri, Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Director, Mr. Tareq Al Bahri and President of Japan Jiu-Jitsu Federation, Mr. Takamasa Watanabe
“After four years, we have developed a lot compared to the first season. I have seen the improvements year after year. There were a lot of challenges when we first came here to Tokyo; the language, logistics, players etc. but the events have always been successful.” Said Mr. Tareq Al Bahri, Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Director
“We have doubled the number of participants compared to last year, the first season we had players from 15 countries and today we had players from 44 countries. We had 1 broadcaster and now we have 25 broadcasters covering the event in 120 countries. The media, TV, fans and participants are slowly but surely understanding what is our mission and vision with the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, that is to be the most prestigious Jiu-Jitsu event in the world” Said Mr. Tareq Al Bahri, Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Director
“This is the fourth year hosting the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam here in Tokyo, we have been improving the quality of the event, the number of players and spectators every year. This year we had to close the registration lines two days before the deadline due to high demand and getting to full capacity. Next year perhaps we will have to make it two days, because the demand is too high.” Said Mr. Takamasa Watanabe, President of Japan Jiu-Jitsu Federation
Vitor Shaolin who defeated Daisuke Sugie on points in a very closely contested match said after his victory “What a great event here in Tokyo against one of the best players in Japan, I congratulate Daisuke for his performance, he was really strong and aggressive. I am very happy to win the Legends match. I would like to thank the fans, UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation and especially His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for supporting Jiu-Jitsu and shining a positive light among all of us”
As usual the highlight of the day was the black belt division, which featured some technical and strong matches for the full packed crowd at the OTA Gymnasium and also for the viewers all over the globe.
The second leg of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam® Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Season 4 [2018-19] heads to Los Angeles [USA] on 22nd and 23rd September 2018. For registrations and more information, please visit – EVENT
RESULTS
Male Adult Black Belt
- 56kg – Nobuhiro Sawada
- 62kg – Tomoyuki Hashimoto
- 69kg – Lee Ting
- 77kg – Diego Ramalho
- 85kg – DJ Jackson
- 94kg – Rudson Teles
- 110kg – Gutemberg Pereira
Female Brown/Black Belt
- 49kg – Mayssa Bastos
- 55kg – Amal Amjahid
- 62kg – Larissa Paes
- 70kg – Samantha Cook
- 90kg – Gabrieli Pessanha
Master 1
- 62kg – Yamada Yoshihiro
- 69kg – Daisuke Nakamura
- 77kg – Bruno Amorim
- 85kg – Sergio Rios
- 94kg – Anderson Takahashi
- 110kg – Fabio Galeb
