[Press release.]
The first appearance of Jiu-Jitsu at the Asian Games was a huge success. Athletes thrilled the fans with outstanding performances throughout the 3 days of event at the Jakarta Convention Center, in Indonesia. The action wrapped up this Sunday, August 26, with awesome matches both at the men’s -77kg and -85kg divisions. Here’s how each weight class played out until the medalists were set.
Male
-77kg
Kazakhstan’s Ruslan Israilov tested the hearts of his teammates and fans. He waited until the final 15s of the gold medal match to sweep Kyrgyzstan’s Nursultan Alymkulov and secure the 2-0 lead that granted him the gold medal. Before the sweep, Nursultan had the control of the match. Before the final, Israilov beat Erkhbayar Batkhuyag (MGL) 6-0 in the semifinals, outscored Aiazbek Mustakov (KGZ) 4-0 in the quarterfinals, beat Hazmeh Al Rasheed (JOR) by referees decision in the eightfinals and debuted with a submission win over Iran’s Mohammad Davar.
Podium
1st – Ruslan Israilov (KAZ)
2nd – Nursultan Alymkulov (KGZ)
3rd – Mohamed Alqubaisi (UAE)
3rd – Abdelkarim Alrashid (JOR)
-85kg
The gold medal match would have been epic, but unfortunately Khalfan Balhol could not compete due to an injured left foot. The title then rested with Jordan’s Haidar Al Rasheed. The Jordanian did great on his way to the top of the podium this Sunday. In the semifinal, he beat Abdurahmanhaji Murtazaliev (KGZ) by advantages. Before that he beat Mergen Jorayev (TKM) 4-0 in the quarterfinals and Habib Ranjbar 10-0 in the eightfinals.
Podium
1st – Haidar Al Rasheed (JOR)
2nd – Khalfan Balhol (UAE)
3rd – Abdurahmanhaji Murtazaliev (KGZ)
3rd – Murtazali Murtazaliev (KGZ)
That was it for the Jiu-Jitsu competition at the 2018 Asian Games.