Tamil Nadu surfers secured all four final spots in the Men’s Open category and two spots in the Women’s Open category at Sasihithlu Beach near here on Saturday at the Indian Open of Surfing.
Sanjaikumar S., Sanjay Selvamani, Srikanth D., and Ajeesh Ali entered the final with scores of 11.17, 11.03, 9.9, and 9.7 at the semifinals. The highlight of the category was the elimination of Sivaraj Babu, the top scorer from Friday and early Saturday in quarterfinals.
The three-day surfing event is organised by the Surfing Swami Foundation and hosted by Mantra Surf Club, under the aegis of Surfing Federation of India.
The day started with the quarterfinals of the Men’s Open where Sivaraj Babu scored the highest points (15.17) followed by Sanjay Selvamani (11.63), Ajeesh Ali (11.43), Srikanth D (10.33), Manivanna T. (9.40), Harish M. (9.23) and Ruban V. (7.93).
In Surfing Groms and Under 16 Boys quarter-finals, Harish P. scored the highest, 10.17. The competition was intense between East and West coast surfers, with the Pujar brothers keeping Karnataka’s hopes alive. Other top scorers who advanced to the semifinals included Tayin Arun (7.6), Prahlad Sriram (7.17), Raju Pujar (7.33), Pradeep Pujar (6.47), Akash Pujar (5.8), Yogesh A (4.4), and Som Sethi (4.4). The semifinals and finals will take place on Sunday.
The day also featured the semifinals of the Women’s Open surf category, where defending champion Kamali Moorthi scored 11.23 points. Goa surfer Sugar Banarase scored 8.93 points. The other two surfers who qualified for the finals are Neha Vaid (2.2) and Marielle Wunderink (1.87).
Ms. Moorthi said, “The conditions were a little tricky as the waves were breaking back to back, making it take some time to paddle in.
There was some competition in the heats as well.“ Mr. Sanjaikumar said, “Today’s surfing conditions were good, with a bit of wind adding to the challenge. We had strong competition and felt some pressure.“
