Vice Governor Nirat opens ju-jitsu world champs in Bangkok

The President of the Ju-Jitsu International Federation, Mr Panagiotis Theodoropoulos, said the event would highlight the “friendship, fair play, values and spirit” of ju-jitsu and how this benefits society in general. “We will make new friends and meet new people, and I congratulate the Ju-Jitsu Asian Union for their efforts over the past two years,” he said.

“You can see this in the results and also in the organisation of these world championships in Thailand. I can see all the athletes with smiling faces and friendship, so I congratulate the organisers for this fantastic world championship.” With five mats inside the compact gymnasium, the action was fast and furious from mid-morning to late in the evening, with a break for the opening ceremony at 7pm.

The finals and medal ceremonies followed in 11 categories, with United Arab Emirates, Thailand and Kazakhstan all in the medals on a day dominated largely by Europe. The duo show system, involving two athletes per team performing a series of moves and techniques in self-defence, was being held for the first time in three categories – men, women and mixed – so there were no seedings at the draw on Thursday evening.

The duo show mixed event was first up and attracted eight teams, with Spain beating Sweden 41.5-40 in the final. The duo women’s classic was a round-robin of four teams, and Austria’s 24-year-old twin sisters Mirneta and Mirnesa Becirovic romped to their third world championship title with a series of dynamic displays, superbly choreographed and executed with precision, intensity and aggression throughout. Germany took the silver and Thailand the bronze, with Vietnam missing out on the medals.

[RESULTS]