Jessa Khan, a 16-year-old Cambodian jiu-jitsu athlete, beat Mahra Alhinaai of United Arab Emirates on Friday at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, for Cambodia’s first gold of these games and in this event, according to the organizers.
The pan-Asian games began on August 18 and end on September 2. China is the gold medal winner so far, with 66, followed by Japan with 29 and the Republic of Korea with 23.
The women's ju-jitsu newaza 49 kg category, which Khan won with the final score of 100-0, was one of the jiu-jitsu matches held from August 24 to August 26. Alhinaai surrendered to a lockdown 2 minutes and 8 seconds before the match ended. She took home a silver. Margarita Ochoa of the Philippines and Thi Thanh Minh Duong of Vietnam each won a bronze.
Martial Art Jiu Jitsu Gains Popularity in Cambodia
Jiu-jitsu, one of the world’s best-known martial arts and first introduced in Cambodia about 20 years ago, is gaining more popularity in the country, especially among expatriates. The sport, originally consisting of several Japanese martial arts, was transformed by the Brazilians in the early 1990s. It has quickly become a popular self-defense and combat sport.