Muhammad Al Dhaheri.. Judo talent is making its way to the world

The player of the national junior team and the Sharjah Self-Defense Sports Club, Mohammed Salem Al Dhaheri, is distinguished by being a promising international player project towards internationalism in the sport of judo in the near future, based on great family support who makes sport a way of life, along with his two brothers Sultan and Saeed, who practice judo and taekwondo. Al Dhaheri has high sports ethics that prompted him to refuse a landslide victory over a player who is going through special circumstances.

Al Dhaheri, who is 16 years old, succeeded in joining the national team early, after achieving outstanding results during a short period of time, during which he won 9 medals, including two gold medals in the Japanese Ambassador Cup and Federation Judo Cup tournaments, in addition to a silver medal and 6 bronze medals in other tournaments.

Mohammed Al Dhaheri told Emirates Today: “Since childhood, my ambition was to join the national teams and achieve achievements that would lead me to international podiums. I was aware that football would not allow me to do that in the way I aspire to, so I turned to individual games as the shortest path to achieving achievements. I found myself in the sport of judo specifically, and I consider this a divine gift to be on the right path at an early age.”

He continued: “I am proud of my participation in the Asian Junior Championship, which was held in Uzbekistan in 2025, where I played a strong match against a distinguished player from Kazakhstan, and despite losing the golden point after five minutes of strong competition, that match formed an important technical and moral starting point, and strengthened my ambition to continue and move forward towards international participation.”

Al Dhaheri recounted a situation that reflects his commitment to the ethics of self-defense sports, saying: “I played a previous match against an international player who has high competitive potential, and I noticed from the first seconds of the fight that he was going through special, technical and physical conditions that were below his usual level, so I decided to take that into account, and not expose him to a harsh loss that might affect his morale. I played calmly until the end of the match, and achieved an ordinary victory out of respect for him.”

In his speech, Al Dhaheri recalled the story of the Egyptian champion Mohamed Rashwan in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, when he refused to take advantage of the injury of his Japanese opponent in the final match, and lost the gold medal, but he gained the respect of the world.

Al Dhaheri expressed his pride in being one of the graduates of the “Wa’ed” program organized by the Sharjah Sports Council, which contributes to enhancing the leadership spirit and cultural and moral aspects of athletes. He stressed that he benefited greatly from the program, especially in how to deal with difficult moments during strong competitions, control emotions, avoid inappropriate reactions, and be dreamy in stressful situations.

He is also proud of joining the Talented Care Program at the Sharjah Sports Council, and being one of the players of the Sharjah Self-Defense Sports Club, which is an ideal environment for success athletically and culturally, in addition to the great support he receives from the Judo Federation and his family, which places him before a great responsibility. He hopes to live up to the trust given to him.

For his part, the technical director of judo at the Sharjah Self-Defense Sports Club, Islam Abdel Fattah, revealed that Muhammad Salem Al Dhaheri is the first player from the club to be registered in the International Judo Federation system, indicating that he has distinguished technical specifications, most notably high audacity and courage in competitions, in addition to commitment and tactical discipline.

He added: “The player is a strong candidate to become an international champion as soon as possible, according to my technical vision and the vision of the national teams coach, and the club’s board of directors is keen to support talented people, and Mohammed Al Dhaheri comes within this distinguished group and has full support to continue his career successfully.”