JIU-JITSU – Bahrain bagged a sensational 21 medals yesterday, headlined by four gold, in the second JJAU Regional Championship West Asia.
The kingdom’s jiu-jitsu national team were spearheaded in the hotly contested regional competition by their four title winners, who included Pedro Bisi de Jesus, Yousif Mercer, Ahmed Aseeri, and Alaa Hasan.
The event took place at Isa Sports City in Riffa, and it was organised and run by the Bahrain Jiu-Jitsu Federation (BJJF) under the Bahrain Combat Sports Council (BCSC), in collaboration with Ju-Jitsu Asian Union (JJAU).
The kingdom’s flag was flown by a 30-strong national team that featured both men and women of various ages and weight-classes.
Their total medal haul also included nine silver medals and eight bronze medals.
That was the leading total for the competition, which featured nine nations in all.
The Bahrainis finished third on the medal table based on gold medals won, with Saudi Arabia in first place having clinched eight gold, six silver, and three bronze for a 17-medal total.
Jordan were second with five gold, four silver, and two bronze for 11 medals in all.
Yesterday’s winners were presented their respective medals by General Sports Authority vice-chairman and BCSC president Shaikh Salman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Bahrain Olympic Committee executive director of operations Ahmed Abdulghaffar, and BCSC member and BJJF president Redha Monfaredi.
Amongst Bahrain’s athletes, headlining their haul were the four gold-medallists, who included de Jesus, the kingdom’s reigning European BJJ champion and recent gold-medallist at the Abu Dhabi World Grappling Championship 2025.
De Jesus secured his West Asian crown in the under-18 men’s under-85kg category.
Mercer took his gold medal in the under-18 men’s under-56kg division, while Aseeri triumphed in the under-16 men’s under-69kg and Hasan was the champion in the adult women’s under-63kg to complete Bahrain’s title winners.
Winning silver medals for the hosts in their respective classes were Layal Ismail, Farah Al Dandal, Abdulla Ali, Salman Sultan, Mohamed Alnajjar, Mohammed Mahmood, Yousif Aseeri, Hamad Mohseni, and Abdulla Al Shaikh; while taking bronze medals were Ema Janahi, Mohammed Ashoor, Mohamed Alswar, Ali Munfaredi, Mahmood Alnajjar, Mohamed Mahdi, Hadi Saeed, and Faisal Mustafa.
The championship featured more than 100 athletes, with the other participating nations including Iran, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, Oman, and the UAE.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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