The two-day National Stand-Up Paddle Boarding Championship 2024, came to an end on Sunday at Pirappanvalasai shore near Uchipuli in Ramanathapuram district with local talents stealing the show.
In the final heats, sprint men was won by.Sekar Pachai, sprint women was bagged by Anandi Arthi. In the sprint mixed groms, Muthukumar N won gold. In the technical category men, Sekar Pachai again finished first and in the women’s category Tanvi Jagadish came first. Akash Pujar won the technical mixed groms category. Sekar Pachai was unstoppable winning the distance men’s heat and Tanvi Jagadish won in the women’s category. Sprint men’s open category was bagged by Gokul Raj and in the sprint mixed defence (open) Rajeshwaran Rajeshwaran topped the list.
But those who stole the show were local boys like Naveen. A college student, he has been training at the Quest Adventure Sports Academy near Uchipuli every Saturday and Sunday for five years. His perseverance has bagged him fourth place in the sprint segment.
“After coming so close to bagging a medal in the national championship, I am now confident that I can take part in more races and improve my speed,” he says.
There were many others who had taken part in the events and had given a stiff competition to the national players.
There were also others like Nandhini, a student of VII standard in a local school, who had lined up at the seashore soaking in the competitive spirit and cheering their home heroes to victory. These budding paddlers have joined the Quest Adventure Sports Academy that runs free coaching for the young children living nearby.
Published - September 29, 2024 07:20 pm IST
