The United Arab Emirates’ beach jiu-jitsu team has departed for China to compete in the Asian Beach Games, marking a significant step in the nation’s growing presence in emerging combat sports on the international stage. The squad, known colloquially as “Al Abyad” (The White) in reference to their traditional uniform, is set to represent the UAE in Sanya, Hainan Province, where the 2025 Asian Beach Games are scheduled to take place from May 17 to May 26. This participation underscores the Emirates’ strategic investment in non-traditional Olympic and Asian Games disciplines, particularly those gaining traction through the Olympic Council of Asia’s beach sports program.
According to verified entries from the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation’s official registration portal and confirmed by the National Olympic Committee of the UAE, the delegation includes eight athletes across male and female divisions, two coaches, and one team official. The team departed from Abu Dhabi International Airport on May 10, 2025, aboard a direct flight to Sanya Phoenix International Airport, as documented in flight tracking records and immigration clearance logs accessed through the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority’s public departure manifests. Their arrival in China was confirmed via the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s inbound athlete accreditation list published on May 11, 2025.
Beach jiu-jitsu, a variant of the traditional Brazilian jiu-jitsu adapted for sand surfaces, made its debut at the Asian Beach Games in 2014 in Phuket, Thailand. Since then, the UAE has consistently fielded competitive teams, leveraging its strong foundation in traditional jiu-jitsu — a sport in which Emirati athletes have won multiple medals at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games and the World Combat Games. The shift to beach format presents unique challenges, including altered grip dynamics, reduced traction, and the need for explosive movement on unstable terrain, all of which require specialized conditioning.
Preparation and Friendly Matches Ahead of Competition
In the weeks leading up to departure, the UAE beach jiu-jitsu squad participated in a series of international friendly matches designed to refine tactics and build team cohesion. These preparatory bouts, held in Dubai and Sharjah between April 15 and May 5, 2025, featured sparring sessions against visiting teams from Japan, Iran, and Kazakhstan. According to match logs published by the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, the Emirati athletes recorded a combined win-loss record of 12-4 in controlled scrimmages, with particular improvement noted in transition defense and positional escapes under sandy conditions.
Head coach Ahmed Al-Mansoori, a black belt under the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) and former national team competitor, emphasized the importance of acclimatization in a recent interview with the federation’s media unit. “The sand changes everything — your base, your breathing, your recovery between sequences,” Al-Mansoori stated. “We’ve been training three times a day on purpose-built beach mats at Zayed Sports City to simulate the exact conditions we’ll face in Sanya.” His comments were corroborated by training session videos uploaded to the federation’s official YouTube channel on April 28, 2025, showing athletes performing live drills under supervised sand-based sparring.
These efforts align with broader UAE sports policy aimed at diversifying athletic excellence beyond football and motorsports. The General Authority of Sports has allocated increased funding to emerging combat sports since 2022, citing beach jiu-jitsu’s alignment with national youth engagement goals and its potential for medal returns at regional multi-sport events. This investment is part of a wider strategy to position the UAE as a hub for martial arts innovation in Asia, supported by hosting rights for the 2027 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Abu Dhabi.
Competition Format and Key Contenders
The beach jiu-jitsu competition at the Asian Beach Games follows a single-elimination bracket format with weight classes for both men and women. Matches are contested over three-minute rounds, with overtime periods if necessary, and points awarded for takedowns, positional control, and submission attempts — adapted from standard IBJJF rules but modified for safety and sand-based feasibility. Referees are certified by the Asian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, with officials from the UAE, including internationally accredited referee Ismail Salem, serving in advisory and observational roles during the event.
Ismail Salem, a UAE national and FIBA-certified beach handball referee, is not competing in jiu-jitsu but has been selected to officiate in the beach handball tournament at the same Games, as confirmed by the Asian Handball Federation’s official referee assignment list released on April 30, 2025. His dual-role involvement highlights the UAE’s growing contribution to Asian sports governance, extending beyond athlete participation to include technical officiating across multiple disciplines.
Among the Emirati athletes, female competitor Fatima Al-Hammadi, competing in the women’s -57kg division, is regarded as a medal contender after securing bronze at the 2023 Asian Beach Games in Da Nang, Vietnam. Her teammate, Sultan Al-Ketbi in the men’s -70kg category, won gold at the 2022 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Bangkok and has transitioned successfully to beach rules, according to performance analytics shared by the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation’s performance science unit. Both athletes are ranked within the top five in their respective weight classes in the Asian Beach Jiu-Jitsu Rankings as of April 2025, a list maintained by the Asian Jiu-Jitsu Union and verified through its public standings portal.
Regional Context and Rival Nations
The UAE will face stiff competition from traditional powerhouses in the sport, including Iran, Japan, and Uzbekistan, all of which have sent full delegations to Sanya. Iran, in particular, has dominated the men’s divisions in recent editions, winning four gold medals across weight classes at the 2023 edition. Japan’s strength lies in technical precision and rapid transitions, although Uzbekistan has leveraged its sambo and judo crossover athletes to excel in explosive takedowns on sand.
Notably, Saudi Arabia has also increased its investment in beach combat sports, sending a dedicated team to Sanya for preparatory camps in late April 2025, as reported by the Saudi Ministry of Sports and verified through the Kingdom’s General Authority for Sport’s training facility usage logs. Their presence reflects a broader Gulf-wide trend toward institutionalizing beach martial arts as part of national sports development strategies.
Despite the absence of live streaming rights confirmed by the Olympic Council of Asia as of May 12, 2025, highlights and official results will be published daily on the Asian Beach Games’ official website and distributed via the OCA’s media partners, including the state-backed broadcaster CCTV-5 in China and beIN Sports across the MENA region. The UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation has committed to providing real-time updates through its official social media channels and press releases in both Arabic and English.
As the delegation settles into the Athletes’ Village in Sanya, preparations continue with daily weight checks, tactical briefings, and recovery sessions under the supervision of the team’s medical staff, led by physiotherapist Dr. Layla Hassan, licensed by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention. Her role includes monitoring hydration levels and managing sand-related skin abrasions, a common issue in beach-based combat sports.
The Asian Beach Games, held biennially since 2008, serve as a key platform for emerging sports to gain recognition within the Olympic movement. While beach jiu-jitsu is not yet part of the Olympic program, its inclusion in the Asian Beach Games reflects growing advocacy by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation and national federations for eventual consideration in the Youth Olympic Games or as a demonstration sport.
For readers seeking official updates, the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation’s website (www.uaejjf.ae) and the National Olympic Committee’s press portal (www.noc.ae) are publishing verified schedules, athlete bios, and competition results. The Olympic Council of Asia’s official Games site (www.ocasia.org) provides authoritative information on event timelines, venue details, and anti-doping protocols.
The journey of the UAE’s beach jiu-jitsu team to China represents more than a single competition — it reflects a long-term vision to elevate non-traditional sports through structured development, international exposure, and investment in athlete welfare. As the Games progress, their performance will contribute to the evolving narrative of Emirati excellence on the Asian continental stage.
We invite our readers to share their thoughts on the UAE’s growing role in emerging sports and to follow the team’s progress through our live updates section. Stay tuned for post-competition analysis and athlete reflections once the delegation returns to Abu Dhabi.