New Delhi [India], August 2 (ANI): Top Indian surfers, Kamali P and Sugar Shanti Banarse will fight for the title in the Open Women’s category which will be held tomorrow along with Shrishti Selvam and Sandhya Arun in the 3rd Mahabs Point Break Challenge National Surf Series 2024 being held here at the pristine shores of the Bay of Bengal.
Kamali will also look to complete the double as she will be the favourite in the Groms U-16 Girls category finals which will also be held on Saturday.
On Day 1 of the competition, Kamali and Sugar qualified for the finals, winning their respective semi-finals in fine fashion securing a score of 13.17 and 8.16 respectively. Shrishti Selvam and Sandhya Arun qualified for the finals finishing second in the first and second semi-finals respectively.
Meanwhile, Kamali P will fight with Dhayanthi Sriram, Mahati Srinivasabharathi and Saanvi Hegde in the Groms U-16 Girls category to complete her double in the national surf series.
Upcoming star surfers Tayin Arun and Kishore Kumar continue to impress everyone with their performances at the national level as they have qualified for the next rounds of both the Men’s Open Category and the Groms U-16 Boys category.
Kishore won Heat 4 of Round 2 to qualify for the quarterfinals while Tayin Arun came second in Heat 5 to reach the quarterfinals and both surfers easily won their quarterfinal heats to book their place in the semi-finals of the Groms U 16 category.
Defending champion from the past two editions Ramesh Budihal and the top-ranked surfers Ajeesh Ali, Srikanth D, Harish M, M. Manikandan, Surya P and Sivaraj Babu have also booked their places in the quarterfinals scheduled for tomorrow with convincing wins in their respective Round 2 heats.
In the Groms U-16 Boys semi-finals, Tayin Arun will be joined by Yogesh A, S. Lokesh and Som Sethi while in the second semi-finals, Kishore Kumar will fight against P. Harish, Pradeep Pujar and Prahlad Sriram for a place in the finals.
As the competition moves into the final day, anticipation is high among participants and organizers alike. The forecast promises favourable conditions, with hopes for a larger swell on the final day.
Head Judge Rory Symes, representing Australia, expressed excitement over the elevated level of surfing skills on display and the increasing competitiveness of the event. He highlighted the impressive performance of junior surfers challenging seasoned competitors in the Open category, noting their efforts to narrow the skill gap. Symes also commended the women surfers for their remarkable displays of skill and courage throughout the competition. (ANI)
