Jiu-Jitsu players top Black Iris Sports Awards

AMMAN — Jiu-Jitsu athletes took the lion’s share of recognition at the annual Black Iris Sports Awards at a special ceremony on Monday.

Malek Hariri (Jiu-Jitsu) who has seven gold, five silver and four bronze medals under his wing won the Best Male Athlete Award.

Luma Qubaj, gold medallist of the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship and No. 1 in Asia was named Best Female Athlete. 

Best Young Achiever Award went to silver medallist swimmer Khader Baqleh and Asia’s silver medallist Taleen Hamidi for her achievements in Taekwondo.

The Best Paralympic Athlete title was won by Rio Olympics qualifying silver medallist Khetam Abu Awad (table tennis).

HRH Prince Feisal, president of the Jordan Olympic Committee, commended the efforts of athletes saying: “This award dedicated to the efforts and achievements of athletes encourages them to do more and shows the level they have reached that makes us all proud.”

The ceremony, which was attended by Lana Al Jaghbeer, JOC secretary general and officials from the JOC and various sports entities in the Kingdom, in addition to the media, was a result of voting by members of the local sports media who gave their voice to the athletes based on their achievements during the 2015 season.

The voting was followed by the public’s campaign through the JOC Facebook page and website which attracted more than 500,000 interactions.

The Black Iris Sports Award was created in 2005 to recognise sporting excellence in the Kingdom.