While the senior championships do not begin until Wednesday (November 20), there were nine gold medals awarded to UAE athletes as the Youth World Championships got the nine-day tournament started in style at the Mubadala Arena.

The hosts have enjoyed success in the last five editions of the World Championships at senior level, but attention was on the under-18 competition prior to this evening's opening ceremony.

Hamed Alhanaee defeated compatriot Hazaea Farhan to earn over 81 kilograms gold, while Cristian Stoica from Romania took the bronze medal.

There was further joy for the UAE in the under-46kg and under-50kg categories, as Khaled Binshamlan and Omar Alsuwaidi won gold.

They defeated fellow UAE rivals Salem Zayed and Mayed Alshehhi, respectively, as a pair of silvers were added to a rapidly growing medal chest.

A further pair of gold medals came in the girls' under-18 Championships with under-40kg and -44kg titles being presented to Abdulkareem Abdoh Abdulla Balqees and Meera Al Rashdi, respectively.

The women's under-21 event provided an additional gold for UAE, as Wadimah Alyafei defeated Rachadakorn Namngam from Thailand to top the podium.

Russia closed the opening day with four gold medals, with Margarita Iakushkina the pick of their winners, claiming the under-18 over 70kg title.

Tomorrow the competition continues with the under-21 ju-jitsu men's competition and under-18 mixed events begin.