THE RISE OF BOXING AND JIU-JITSU IN QATAR

THE RECENT COMBINED VISITS OF WBC PRESIDENT MAURICIO SULAIMÁN AND GLOBALLYRENOWNED MARTIAL ARTS EXPERT RIGAN MACHADO HIGHLIGHT QATAR'S ONGOING COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE IN COMBAT SPORTS.

QATAR recently welcomed two esteemed guests to the country: Mauricio Sulaimán, the president of the World Boxing Council (WBC), and Rigan Machado, a globally acclaimed martial arts expert. Their visits showcased Qatar's dedication to sports development and demonstrated the country's growing potential in combat sports.

In the world of boxing, WBC president Mauricio Sulaimán praised the sporting infrastructure in Qatar during his visit, asserting that the country has the potential to produce a world champion in the future. Sulaimán was particularly impressed with the 3-2-1 Sports Museum and the Aspire Academy, the world's largest sports facility.

He believes athletes and players around the MENA region could significantly benefit from visiting the Aspire Academy. He was hugely impressed with what he saw at the Aspire Academy, the world's largest sports facility.

"I feel the athletes and players around the MENA region can hugely benefit by visiting the Aspire Academy. It is a sports hub in the real sense. I am impressed with my visit to Aspire Academy," the WBC president said.

The WBC president was accompanied by Qatar Boxing Federation (QBF) president, Sheikh Fahad bin Khalid Al Thani, to the sports clubs in Doha where he met with boxing communities in Qatar. The visiting delegate was impressed with the boxing set-up in Qatar.

"I can see there is a genuine passion for boxing in particular and sports in general. With more participation and improved technical expertise, Qatar can have their world champion in 5-6 years time," the WBC president said in his remarks.

Sulaimán also recognized the genuine passion for boxing and sports in general in Qatar. He commended the top-notch facilities and support provided by the WBC in fostering boxing growth in the MENA region.

"It was always the vision of the late president Mr. Jose Sulaiman to develop the sport in the MENA region. Recently, a Middle East title was formed. It will be a great platform for Arab boxers to create a path of excellence and potentially become world champions," Sulaimán added.

Sheikh Fahad expressed his gratitude for Sulaimán's visit and his kind remarks about Qatar's sporting excellence. "We are honored to have the WBC president in Qatar. We hope to welcome him again in the future at one of our boxing championships," Sheikh Fahad said.

Machado, an 8th-degree red and white belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, headlined a two-day jiu-jitsu tournament at separate venues in Doha. Sheikh Fahad praised Machado's presence, saying it provided the local jiu-jitsu community with valuable insights and learning opportunities.

"Professor Rigan Machado is one of the legendary names in this sport. His presence at our tournaments gave us a huge insight into the latest development of the sport," Sheikh Fahad told local media. "We were delighted to have him here."

The Qatar Jiu-Jitsu Committee (QJC) and Qatar Wrestling Federation have devised a strategy and a pathway leading to the Asian Games in China this year. These tournaments serve as development tools for the federations, aiming to develop local referees, judges, and continuous educational programs for managing and technical staff. The future appears bright for the Qatar combat sports community, with consistent growth and increasing participation in local activities organized by the QJC and wrestling federation.

Machado's visit also highlighted the significant progress made in Qatar's jiujitsu scene since his previous visit eight years ago. At that time, there were only two jiu-jitsu schools in the country, and now there are eight. Professor Ismael Bass, head coach of the QJC, has played an instrumental role in building and developing local talent.

“Since being appointed as head coach of the Qatar national team, Professor ‘Ismail’ Bass has been instrumental in building and developing local talent such as Ahmed al-Jehani who showed massive improvements winning medals in various championships in such a short space of time,” he added.

“He also helped develop the first Qatari black belt in Sheikh Salman al-Thani,” the QWF president pointed out.

“The future is bright for the Qatar combat sports community in general and specifically jiu-jitsu. There is a constant growth and increasing numbers of participants in the local activities organised by the Qatar Jiu-Jitsu Committee and the federation.

“The Asian Games is not the end of the road. Rather it’s an evaluation step headed towards developing a full squad for 2030 Doha Asian Games,” he said

Professor Ismail informed that the twoday seminar and tournament was the third major jiu-jitsu gathering held in Qatar.

“There were athletes from Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait and just about all nationalities living and working in Qatar were represented. There were athletes from the US, UK, Tunisia, Algeria and the Philippines besides many Qatari jiu-jitsu fans. All in all, there were 100 athletes at the event headlined by Machado.”

“We brought in Machado specially for these events. He was here for five days during which he had meetings with the federation officials and athletes currently active in jiu-jitsu competitions. He was called in as Qatar is preparing for the Asian Games to be held in China later this year. There were seminars that he attended,” Professor Ismail said.

“This was his second visit to Qatar. He was here around eight years ago. He was very impressed with what he saw. When he was here earlier, there were two jiu-jitsu schools in Qatar. Now there are eight,” he added. “Machado, as we know, is the man responsible for all jiu-jitsu action we see in Hollywood blockbuster movies. He has engaged with top actors like Keanu Reeves, Ashton Kutcher, Jason Statham etc,” he explained.

“I am the person responsible for jiu-jitsu taking root in this country. I came to Qatar in 2009 and brought Brazilian jiu-jitsu to the country. Since then we have won 160 medals in local and international competitions.

The combined visits of Sulaimán and Machado highlight Qatar's ongoing commitment to excellence in combat sports. With the support of key figures, continued investment in infrastructure, and a growing local passion for boxing and jiu-jitsu, the country is poised to make a significant impact on the global stage.

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