A Surfer in action
Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 3 (ANI): Ramesh Budhilal, Kishore Kumar, Sugar Banarse and Kalmali P fought the waves and the other competitors to be the Winners in their respective categories on the final day of the Mahabs Point Break Challenge – one of the two National Surfing Championships conducted by the Surfing Federation of India in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu. The waves were absolutely firing throughout the day making Mahabs live up to its reputation as one of the best surf breaks in the country, it was well complimented by surfers who put on another exciting show with their high-performance surfing.
The old head Manikandan Appu and the most exciting young talent, Kishore Kumar were the stand-out performers who kept scoring in the excellent range throughout their surf heats. Ramesh Budihal once again had the stroke of luck in the finals who got the wave in the last dying seconds to snatch victory from Appu Manikandan in the Men’s Open category (Men’s 17+).
Sugar Banarse overcame the challenge of youngster Kamali P to emerge as the winner in the Women’s Open Category. Local boy Kishore Kumar’s consistent performance helped him win the Surfing Groms (16 and Under) Boys. Kamali P finished the day on a high as she won the Groms (16 and Under) Girls category. Mahabs Point Break Challenge was held under the aegis of Surfing Federation of India.
Arun Vasu, President of SFI said after the event, “It is evident that the sport is attracting more people from the number of participants for this event and we will be having even more participants in the Covelong Classic.” “This is a comeback season for me and I am in good shape. I want to continue this form in the upcoming events also”, said Ramesh Budhilal, Mens Open Winner.
The Groms Boys Winner Kishore Kumar after his title said, “I was comfortable in the races as it was familiar waters for me and I will try to continue the momentum in the next championship”. The day began with the semifinals of the men’s open (17+) surf category which saw Karnataka’s Ramesh Budihal along with Tamil Nadu surfers, Manikandan Desappan (Appu), Sanjaikumar S and Surya P advance into the finals. Ramesh finished with a total score of 15.20, whereas, runner-up Manikandan finished with 14. 43 points. Sanjai Kumar secured the third position with a total of 12.16.
Local Chennai boy, Kishore Kumar in Groms Boys category was way ahead of his competitors and finished the race with a score of 15. 33, Kalapathy S scored a total of 10.96 followed by Naveenkumar R with a score of 9.36 to finish second and third. Defending Champion from Goa, Sugar Shanti Banarase won the Women’s Open Event in a close encounter against Kamali P in the Women’s Open category. Sugar finished at 14.83 while runner-up Kamali was able to score a total of 14.17. Third place, Shristhi Selvam earned a total of 8.67.
“There was no pressure for me to win the event but I was pushed till the end which was good for me as I could perform better to win”, said the Women’s Winner Sugar Banarse. In Groms Girls category, Kamali P won the title easily with a score of 15.67. Sofiya Sharma pushed Kamali till the end but faltered and ended with a total score of 11.57. Saanvi Hegde from Karnataka with a score of 4.80 landed the third position in this category.
“I was confident of winning the Groms title here but could not do my best performance in the finals. This will be a confident booster for me for the next event to perform well in both the Open and Groms categories”, said Kamali P after winning the event. The surfers will now move to Chennai for Covelong Classic Surf, Music and Fitness Festival – the second of the two National Surfing Championship announced by SFI. The three-day championship which is set to begin from August 5 will see top national and some international surfers competing for the title. The national titles will be decided at the Covelong Point Surf Classic in the coming weekend with surfers already preparing and strategising their game plans where another exciting round of surfing is promised. (ANI)
