Aberdeen schoolboy Zain Almasri cried “tears of joy” after winning gold at British Jiu-Jitsu Open in Coventry.
The Kittybrewster Primary School pupil won gold in the grey belt category for his age and weight category (above 55kg), beating Kian Breslin of England.
Almasri, 10, was the only athlete from Scotland in his age group to compete at this year’s British Open.
He only started competing in Jiu-Jitsu a year ago after short spells in Taekwondo and Wrestling.
Almasri now trains at Aberdeen Combat Centre with coaches Calum Dalrymple and Craig Guthrie, with extra training at Jax Mixed Martial Arts in Montrose.
The British Open – which is dubbed the ‘most prestigious tournament’ in the UK – was the biggest competition Almasri had competed in since starting the sport.
However, winning was not unfamiliar to Almasri, as he won a gold medal as a white belt at the Scottish National League in Kilmarnock back in March.
‘A big life achievement’
Almasri’s gold-medal-winning fight at the national competition was a close contest with the score being 8-8 before his opponent was deducted a point.
On winning the top prize, he said: “I was very nervous, but it all worked out – hard work definitely pays off.
“I was crying tears of joy. It’s a big life achievement for me.”
It was a proud moment for the whole Almasri family as his parents, Jozefina and Assem cheered and celebrated from the sidelines.
Jozefina said: “You always go hoping to win, but you never know what is going to happen. You just want him to do his best.
“It was worth it to go all that way, we just wanted him to experience something new.
“When he won the gold, we were all crying. The amount of emotion and pressure on Zain was really a lot.
“It was an unbelievable achievement.”
