Carrying on the TGH banner was Turbo Tahmid, moving up a weight class from the under 64kg category to also join the under 70kg bracket. Giving up a whole weight class, Tahmid was not fazed by the size difference, earning himself a triangle submission victory and a place in the finals. Tahmid took inspiration from the famous words of Rickson Gracie, “If size mattered, the elephant would be the king of the jungle“. The finals match was an epic showdown fought till the end with Tahmid just losing out on Gold. We will settle for silver for now (Placement 2nd).
Making his white belt debut in the under 88kg category was Ismail Uddin. With only one competitor in the bracket, it was a ‘best out of three’ match structure. Ismail lost the first match on a close advantage and returned the favour with the second also going to an advantage decision. With no points or submission in 2 matches both athletes were ready to put on a display. Going to the finals tied at 1-1, Ismail pushed the pace and secured an arm bar submission victory and a 1st place on the podium.
To kick start the Blue Belt division, Abdul Hannan was fast out the barracks jumping guard and on the offence earning himself a triangle to Arm Bar submission victory in just 54s, and a place in the finals. In the finals, Abdul Hannan was up against a home crowd opponent. He pushed the action from the top to secure another early win in just 1min 5 seconds. Both wins and submissions were completed in under 2 minutes, an impressive feat.