AJP Asia Continental: Youths show the promising future of the sport on the tournament's first day

September 13, 2024

Starting this Friday, September 13th, the AJP Tour Asia Continental Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024 has landed at the Mubadala Arena, in Abu Dhabi, for three days of high-level competition. Opening the tournament's first day, the Youth category took the mats and put their best performances on full display as they sought to conquer the gold and acquire valuable experiences to take more steps toward a successful career in the sport's international scene.

Between Infants, Juniors, Kids, and Teens, the 13 fight areas were stacked from beginning to end, with the younger fighters showing a lot of promise as they acclimated themselves to the competitive environment while the more experienced young'uns showed the attending crowd, and the fight fans following the action at the TX7.com platform, that the sport's future is bright indeed. Without further ado, check out the highlights from the Asia Continental's first day below, and for the full results, click here!

Youth Women's GI / Purple / 57KG

Leading the sole purple belt bracket of the first day, the Kazakh Varvara Shkuropat and Sophie Watkins, from Ireland, went toe-to-toe in the 57kg division final. Despite hailing from very different countries, the contenders found themselves evenly matched throughout the regulated time, defending any submission attempts while still finding enough room to score against one another. After the five minutes were up, a narrow 4-3 score gave Varvara the win and the title in Abu Dhabi.

Youth Men's GI / Blue / 55KG

Representing Al Wahda Club Jiu-Jitsu Academy, Jad Tabbara conquered the 55kg division gold after an incredible campaign in the Asia Continental. Starting in the quarterfinals, Jad first faced a challenging battle against the Brazilian Mykael Freitas, ending the duel with a 3-1 win. From here on out, though, it was smooth sailing for the young athlete as he quickly submitted Syria's Kamal Mohammad in the semis and then got his second and final submission over the Emirati Ahmad Karit in the gold round. With all opponents down for the count, Jad Tabbara rose to take his rightful place atop the podium.

Youth Men's GI / Blue / 60KG

Fighting in his homeland, the Emirati Saeed Alnuaimi gave fight fans a glimpse into the UAE's bright future in the sport as he submitted every opponent in the 60kg bracket. His campaign began in the quarterfinal, in which he scored 5-0 before ultimately submitting his compatriot Hazza Almarashda. Moving on to the semis, Saeed found a more resilient adversary in Mohammed El Hachadi, who managed to defend himself from the attacks until the latter half of the duel, when Saeed saw his chance and landed the winning submission. In the final round, Saeed went up against Shakrom Makhmurodov in a battle that remained tied at 0-0 until around the two-minute mark, when opportunity once again reared its head and the Emirati went in for the kill, locking the winning submission and taking the gold for the Baniyas Jiu-Jitsu Club.

Youth Men's GI / Blue / 73KG

Another Al Wahda Club Jiu-Jitsu Academy powerhouse taking over the mats this Friday, Abdulaziz Alakidi went through the 73kg bracket like a freight train. After submitting Essa Alsabbagh and Ignat Ryazantsev, Abdulaziz kept his streak by tapping the Canadian Landon Lorenowicz in the semifinal. His final foe stood to be the most challenging of all as Abdulaziz would have to face his Lebanese teammate Youssef Mehri, who was also coming from a submission win over Amin Guliyev. The gold round started in a very balanced fashion, with neither side managing to score a single point in the first couple of minutes. However, it wasn't long before Abdulaziz once again proved just how dangerous his game can be as he quickly saw his chance and went all-in for the submission, getting the three taps and rising as a champion in his home country.

With the first day of the tournament completed, the AJP Tour Asia Continental Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024 gets ready to welcome the Amateur and Master categories to the mats on its second day. Register now at TX7.com to watch every second of the action live, and follow @ajptour on social media to stay up-to-date on the most important competitions around the world.