UAE Jiu-Jitsu Champions Asma Al Hosani and Khaled Al Shehhi Aim for World Pro Glory After Asian Games Success

Asma Al Hosani was moved to tears when she draped herself in the UAE flag after successfully defending her jiu-jitsu gold medal at the Asian Games in Japan last week. The 23-year-old was one of five Emiratis to top the podium in jiu-jitsu at the Games, and was thrilled she was able to retain the -52kg gold medal she first claimed in Hangzhou three years ago. The UAE claimed eight jiu-jitsu medals in total in Japan, the most among all participating nations, and Al Hosani assures it is no coincidence.

“Honestly, I was really moved when I held the flag after my fight because I felt like my country deserves this achievement,” Al Hosani told The National upon her return to Abu Dhabi. “It’s important to thank God for the things we have. When we travel abroad, we thank God for the UAE for providing us with coaches and training centres and everything we need. It makes me feel like I need to give my best for the sake of the UAE. Because it deserves it.”

Like scores of Emiratis across the country, Al Hosani was introduced to jiu-jitsu at school from a young age, thanks to the sport’s inclusion in public school curricula – a process that began nearly two decades ago, championed by President Sheikh Mohamed, who was the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at the time. “Jiu-jitsu was something new for us. We were more used to basketball and football, but a contact sport like this, a martial art, it was a bit strange for us,” Al Hosani recalls. “We also wear the hijab, which is something different in this sport. But when I got into it, I felt that it has something special.”

Al Hosani grew up in Al Dhafra and had to go back and forth to Abu Dhabi to train when she was still at school. Upon graduation, she moved to Abu Dhabi to study mechanical engineering at Khalifa University, and it was then that she felt she could really build a career in jiu-jitsu. In 2024, she became the first Emirati woman to reach the finals in the brown- and black-belt categories at the World Pro in Abu Dhabi.

Looking ahead, Al Hosani has her eyes set on clinching gold at next month’s Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, and hopes to see the sport added to the Olympic programme one day. Furthermore, no Emirati woman has ever taken gold in the black belt at the World Pro, and Al Hosani is keen on changing that while also helping usher in the next generation of Emirati fighters through coaching.

Khaled Al Shehhi has similar ambitions. Like Al Hosani, Al Shehhi returned from Japan having successfully defended his Asian Games gold medal in the -62kg event. The 23-year-old says the first gold was hard, but the second one was harder, knowing he went there with all eyes on him in his weight class.

“Since I started in jiu-jitsu, I had a goal that I focused on, which is to win the world title in the black belt. That is my main goal and I haven't achieved it yet. But the championship is in a month and I hope to get it done,” said Al Shehhi.

Al Shehhi initially trained in judo with his older brother before transitioning to jiu-jitsu as a 10-year-old in school. He sees jiu-jitsu as a healthy outlet and has already started coaching, first at Al Ain Club, and now through a team called Namoos, which he created with a friend in Abu Dhabi. He still sees himself competing for at least another decade as he chases his ultimate dream.