A gold medal in Qatar adds to a competition record stretching across Kuwait, Egypt and Europe, tracing the Kuwaiti athlete’s progress through different divisions and international circuits.
Jassim Al-Hatem’s latest gold medal in Doha is part of a longer story than a single podium photograph suggests. Before his reported victory at the AJP Qatar Jiu-Jitsu Championship, the Kuwaiti athlete had already recorded wins in Kuwait, Cairo and London, alongside a bronze medal in Venice.
According to an Arab Times report published on 25 October, Al-Hatem won Qatar’s under-85kg blue-belt category. The report said he expressed pride in representing Kuwait and intended to pursue further international success.
The result provides a timely opportunity to look beyond the latest medal. Official records from ADCC and the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, or IBJJF, document several stages of his competitive development, beginning with a beginner-division title at home in 2023.
A first-place finish on home ground
At the ADCC Kuwait Open on 5 May 2023, Al-Hatem finished first in the men’s beginner under-76kg division. The tournament took place at the Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sport Hall Complex in Kuwait City.
The organiser’s official results list him representing Kuwait Jiu-Jitsu Academy, ahead of Bader Aldeikan of GFTeam Kuwait and Ahmad Younis of Gracie Barra Al-Ahmadi. It is a clear early marker in his published competition record, although it does not establish when he began training or whether this was his first tournament.
The same results also show the breadth of the local academy scene around him. Competitors represented Kuwait Jiu-Jitsu Academy, GFTeam Kuwait, Gracie Barra Al-Ahmadi, Alliance Kuwait and other clubs, while athletes from elsewhere in the region also appeared on the podium.
Al-Hatem’s victory therefore came within an established competition setting at home. His subsequent results would take that record beyond Kuwait and into a different experience division.
Moving into the intermediate division in Cairo
By March 2024, Al-Hatem was competing in the adult intermediate category at the ADCC Egypt Cairo Open. The event was held at Palm Hills Club Center Court in the Cairo area.
In the official Cairo results, he placed first at under 76kg, again representing Kuwait Jiu-Jitsu Academy. Hamza Ashour of Egypt’s International Jiu Jitsu Center finished second, with Sharapudin Magomedaliev of Checkmat International, representing Russia, third.
The distinction between the two ADCC results matters. In Kuwait, his title had come in the beginner division; in Cairo, it came in the intermediate division. The records document a change in competitive classification as well as a win outside his home country.
He was also part of a wider academy presence in Egypt. The published results include podium finishes for other Kuwait Jiu-Jitsu Academy athletes, including Abdullah Alameeri, Bader Alkhalifa and Abdullah Esmeil. That places Al-Hatem’s success within a travelling club contingent, rather than an isolated Kuwaiti entry.
European podiums in Venice and London
Al-Hatem’s competition history also extends to the IBJJF circuit. His official athlete profile records third place in the adult blue-belt lightweight division at the Venice International Open in 2024.
A year later, he took first place at the London Fall International Open No-Gi Championship. The federation’s final results, dated 12 October 2025, list Jassim M. Y. M. Alhatem as the winner of the adult male blue-belt middleweight category, with a weight limit of 79.5kg.
Oliver Thomas Kalandra of R1NG BJJ finished second. Kacper Ferszter of CheckMat and Muhammed Yusuf Agca of Carlson Gracie Team shared third place. Al-Hatem’s academy affiliation remained Kuwait Jiu-Jitsu Academy.
These results add two distinct European stops to his record: a podium finish in Venice and a title in London. They also show why the details beneath a medal headline are useful. His London result was specifically in no-gi competition and in the blue-belt middleweight division.
Weight limits and category names differ between organisers, so the London, Cairo and Qatar results should be read within their respective tournament structures. Together, however, they establish repeated podium appearances across more than one international circuit.
Qatar adds another chapter
The latest Qatar report places Al-Hatem at the top of the under-85kg blue-belt category. That is the relevant title to attach to the Doha result, rather than describing it as an overall championship across every weight and belt level.
His earlier AJP appearances are also documented. An official match listing for the 2025–2026 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam amateur event records a points victory over Ivan Sandul in the men’s blue-belt under-77kg gi division.
Viewed together, the records describe an athlete competing across ADCC, IBJJF and AJP events, with results in both the Gulf and Europe. They provide a firmer account of his development than a medal tally without dates, divisions or tournament names.
For Al-Hatem, the Qatar gold now sits alongside a home title in 2023, an intermediate-division victory in Cairo in 2024 and a London no-gi title in 2025. His next confirmed competition will provide the next measure of that progression: where he competes, in which division, and against whom.
