The second day of the first edition of the 'All Cargo Indian Open of Surfing' got underway amidst perfect conditions at the Sasihithlu beach today. The second day included the preliminary rounds for the Under 16, Junior’s (17-22 Years), Senior’s (23-28 Years) and Open category. The three-day surfing extravaganza is the first ever surfing championship being hosted in Karnataka and is a part of the Karnataka Surfing Festival, promoted by Karnataka tourism. Surfers in these four categories showcased their skills to fix their slot for the semi-finals. Both the semi-final and final round will be held on the 29th May 2016.
Pondicherry’s Perceval Fayon, D Sanjay, Santhoshan, Manikandan T Nithish, Sanjay Selvamani and Manivanan from Tamil Nadu along with Yuvaraj progressed to the semi-finals of the Groms Under 16 category. Amongst the Junior’s (17-22 years) Raghul Govind, Ajith Kumar, Satish S, Manimanan and Surya P from Chennai along with Chinnakonda from Vizag, Swapnil Bhinge from Goa and local lad Dekshith K Suvarna progressed to the semi- final round scheduled for tomorrow.
Varghese from Kerala, Dharani Selvakumar, Vicky V, Raghul Paneer, Raj Sekhar, Manikandan D from Chennai sealed their semi-final spots in the Seniors (23-28 years) category. Auroville’s Samai Revoul, Varghese from Kerala, Raghul Govind, Sekar Pachai & Dharini from Chennai, Kiran Kumar from Mangalore and French surfers Belize Pinel & Dyllan Imhoff, Marcello from Brazil, Dustin Ellison from California and David Hearn from Australia booked their semi-finals for tomorrow in the Open Category.
Maade Sachang, the head judge from Bali for the ‘All Cargo Indian Open of Surfing’ said, “the conditions were good today but tricky for the surfers to compete. The competition has got fierce. Tomorrow is going to be an early start to get best surf conditions for the semis & finals.”
The day also included a special visit by Delhi Daredevil’s team member & surfing enthusiast Sanju Samson. Brazil’s Marcello and Jehan Driver from Mumbai did a kite surfing demonstration for the audience. The semi-finals and finals would be held tomorrow from 6 AM onwards.
