GOING UP IN THE WORLD
Jan 05, 2020
Jordanians are rising up the world rankings following recent successes to cement the Kingdom’s position as one of the world’s strongest Ju-Jitsu nations.
Yara Qaqish has moved up to second in the -70kg, behind Belgium’s Amal Amjaheed, but is the top ranked in Asia after winning silver in the recent World Championships held in the UAE, silver in the Asian Championship in Mongolia and bronze at the World Martial Arts Games held in Korea.
Her teammate, Hamzeh Al Rasheed, also moved up to second in the -77kg rankings courtesy of his world silver.
Zaid Garandoka finished 2019 fifth in the -94kg category and second in Asia after he won bronze medals at the Asia Championships and World Martial Arts Games. He also won gold at the Grand Prix in Kazakhstan. Basel Fanous is 11th in the same class, while Abdulkareem Al Rasheed is 12th.
Haidar Al Rasheed is sixth in the -85kg weight and second in Asia after taking bronze in Asian Championships, and he could have moved higher had it not been for injury ruling him out for a large part of the year.
Athletes will step up their competition through 2020 in a bid to qualify for the 11th World Games that will be held in Alabama, USA, with the top 10 from each weight qualifying.