PANAJI: Goan teenager Sugar Banarse impressed on her way to the finals on the second day of the 3rd edition of Indian open of surfing, at the tranquil Panambur beach in Mangalore, Karnataka. The three-day premier surfing competition of India is the official national championship of the Surfing Federation of India – the governing body for the sport of surfing and stand-up paddling.
The 16-year-old Sugar impressed all the judges with her surfing gathering the highest points amongst the women who made it to the finals.
Karnataka’s Ishita Malviya (6.17) & Sinchana Gowda (7.30) along with Goa’s Sugar Banarse (11.27) & Tamil Nadu’s Srishthi Selvam (10.37) advanced to the finals of the women’s open surf category. Sugar will also compete in the finals of the groms (16 & under) girls surf category tomorrow.
Speaking post booking her slot in the finals, Sugar said, “I am happy to make it to the finals, but I am competing against experienced surfers and the defending champion Srishti Selvam. I know the challenge from my fellow finalists will be tough but I am looking forward to it and I hope to surf my best tomorrow. I would also like to thank the Surfing Federation of India for organizing this tournament as this helps us get more competition time under our belt, that will be of immense help for future training and international competitions.”
In the Groms Boys (U16) surf category semifinals today it was a clean sweep by Tamil Nadu surfers, with Kishore Kumar leading the race by a huge margin. Kishore, seemed more comfortable today and emerged with the highest marks in the competition today. His 15.50 points from the judges was a testimony to the fact of his impressive surfing and maneuvers that also included a reverse flip, thereby helping him comfortably secure a spot in the finals tomorrow. The others who have made it to the finals tomorrow are Tayin Arun (11.10), Naveenkumar R (10.17) & Jeevan S (6.46).
Speaking after booking his Finals slot Kishore Kumar said, “I enjoyed my surf today and that’s what matters the most. I know finals is a different ball game and the competition will be stiff, but I am looking forward to it and will try to do my best.”
The day began with the quarterfinal encounters in the men’s open surf category which was dominated by Tamil Nādu surfers while Karnataka’s Ramesh Budhial impressed everyone with his maneuvers and surfing booking a spot for himself in semifinals with 14.33 points, the highest amongst the ones in the semifinals for the men’s open surf category. Tamil Nādu surfers Srikanth D (9.93), Surya P (9.7), Satish Sarvanan (12), Ruban V (8.7), Ajeesh Ali (9.3), Manikandan M (8.34) & Sanjai Kumar S (9.17) also advanced to the semifinals in the men’s open surf category. Due to bad weather and non-surfable conditions the semifinals for the category that was earlier scheduled to be held today has been shifted to the final day (tomorrow) of the Indian Open of Surfing 2022, stated a press note.
