Saudi Arabia Wins Its First Asian Games Jiu-Jitsu Gold

Saudi Arabia has its first Asian Games jiu-jitsu gold, and it was won on the mat in Japan. At Aichi-Nagoya 2026, Omar Nada took the men's under-94kg title to put the Kingdom on top of the podium in a sport it has been quietly building for years. If you train in a Saudi gym, the result is worth more than a headline: jiu-jitsu is built on grip, core control and hard conditioning, the same qualities you can work on in any gym, and a home-grown scene is now producing champions on an Asian stage.

In this article

1. How Omar Nada won Saudi Arabia's jiu-jitsu gold
2. What jiu-jitsu asks of your body
3. How to start jiu-jitsu-style training
4. Ready to test your conditioning?

How Omar Nada won Saudi Arabia's jiu-jitsu gold

According to Saudi Gazette, Omar Nada beat South Korea's Park Seonghoo by submission in the under-94kg final on 2 October, sealing the title with the kind of finish that leaves no room for a judge's decision. It had been a long time coming. Nada took bronze at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou when he was 18, and he arrived in Nagoya set on changing the colour of that medal.

Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the win gave Saudi Arabia its first Asian Games jiu-jitsu gold, and that the sport went on to deliver five of the Kingdom's medals at the Games, two gold and three bronze. The family story got better a day later, when Omar's brother Abdullah Nada won gold in the under-85kg category. Saudi Gazette framed Omar's victory as the Kingdom's second gold of these Games, part of an overall Saudi haul that reached 14 medals.

After the final, Nada said his confidence had grown with constant training, that no one at the Games had trained harder than he had, and that an Asian Games gold for his country was the biggest achievement of his career. Park took silver for South Korea, one of two silvers and two bronzes the Korean team claimed in jiu-jitsu across the weight classes.

What jiu-jitsu asks of your body

You do not need to compete to train like a grappler. Jiu-jitsu is submission grappling, a game of leverage, angles and control rather than size or aggression, and it builds a specific mix of physical qualities. Every one of them can be developed with ordinary gym tools, which is why the sport is such a useful template even if you never step onto a mat. These are the pieces worth borrowing:

• Grip and forearm endurance. Holding a sleeve or a collar for minutes at a time punishes the hands, and dead hangs, towel rows and farmer carries build the same staying power.
• Core and hip control. Almost every movement starts from a braced trunk and the hips, so planks, hollow holds, leg raises and hip bridges carry straight across.
• Mobility. The hips, shoulders and neck all need range to stay comfortable in awkward positions, and a few minutes of daily mobility work goes a long way.
• Short, sharp conditioning. A match is a string of explosive scrambles rather than a steady jog, so interval work on a bike, a rower or in a circuit fits the demand better than long slow cardio.

Train those four and you will feel fitter even if you never roll with a partner. They are the same foundations that make almost any sport, and plenty of everyday tasks, easier to handle.

How to start jiu-jitsu-style training

Getting started is easier than it looks, because jiu-jitsu welcomes complete beginners and so does the conditioning behind it. Build the base first and the skills come faster once you find a class. A simple way in:

1. Spend ten minutes on mobility before every session, with the hips, shoulders and spine as the priority.
2. Add two short strength sessions a week built on pulls, carries and core holds.
3. Finish one or two sessions with five to ten rounds of hard, short intervals to copy the rhythm of a match.

Train that way for a month and you will notice the difference in your grip, your wind and your control, whether or not you ever set foot on a mat. It is also a reminder that the Saudi athletes winning in Nagoya are built on fundamentals anyone can start on, not on secrets, which is exactly why a growing number of people, from Riyadh to Jeddah, are giving the sport a try.

Ready to test your conditioning?

Curious how your grip, core and conditioning hold up? Get started with GymNation by filling in the enquiry form and the team will help you build a plan that fits your goals, whether that is grappling-style fitness or simply feeling stronger day to day.

Sources:
aawsat.com
saudigazette.com.sa
koreatimes.co.kr

The opinions shared in the GymNation blog articles are solely those of the respective authors and may not represent the perspectives of GymNation or any member of the GymNation team.