Indian Open of Surfing: Teenagers Kishore Kumar, Kamali Moorthy win double on first day

Mangalore, June 3 (IANS) Tamil Nadu's teenage sensations, Kishore Kumar and Kamali Moorthy, swept through the top honours in both the men's and women's categories -- Groms and Open -- to be crowned as the Men's and Women's champion respectively in the 4th edition of Indian Open of Surfing on Saturday.

After winning titles in their categories (Boys and Girls Groms), they also punched their weight above everyone with their scintillating performances to win the Open Men and Women categories to be crowned as the champions.

The three-day premier surfing competition of India which was hosted by Mantra Surf Club at Sashithlu Beach, Mangalore, Karnataka is the official national championship of the Surfing Federation of India and is also recognized by the International Surfing Association.

Kishore walked away with a cash prize of 50,000 INR, followed by 30,000 INR for Srikanth D. and 20,000 INR for Surya P, in Men's Open category.

Kamali was handed over the cheque of INR 30,000 for securing first position in the Women's Open category followed by Sugar with 20,000 INR and Sinchana, who bagged 10,000.

In the Groms boys 16 & under category, Kishore (20,000 INR); Tayin Arun (15,000 INR) and Harish P (10, 000 INR) got the cash prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions respectively. The Groms girls 16 & under category saw Kamali, Thanishka and Saanvi winning cash prizes of 20,000; 15,000 & 10,000 respectively.

Speaking after the tournament, Abhay Chandra Jain, President, Ex Sports and Youth Affairs Minister, Karnataka State, said, "Sasihithlu beach is very prominent for the sport of surfing. Manyra Surf Club has started and supported this sport. Sasihithlu is the best destination. I assure you all that for the next event, we will get the Tourism Minister Government of Karnataka and bring an international event to his venue."

"I would like to congratulate all the surfers who participated in the Indian Open of Surfing and displayed some best surfing even in the stiff and challenging conditions. The Federation has had a good start with this championship and we are committed to delivering such top-class championships in the season. We are also thankful to the sponsors who unconditionally supported us in the successful conduct of this event", said, Ram Mohan Paranjape, Vice President, Surfing Federation of India and Partner, Mantra Surf Club.

The day began with the semifinals of the men's open surf category which saw Tamil Nadu's teenager Kishore Kumar manoeuvring majestically on waters, thereby advancing to the finals with the highest score of 14.00 in the category and was joined by the home state surfers, Srikanth D (11.66), Surya P (11.0) and Sathish Saravanan (7.93).

From there, Kishore never looked back as the finals of the men's open surf category were a treat to watch where the young land Kishore competed against more experienced surfers and emerged as a champion with 15.67 scores in the finals while the runner-up Srikanth D earned 12.90 followed by Surya P (9.14).

In the Surfing Groms 16 & Under Boys category with 15.07 points, Kishore Kumar was able to retain the title from the last edition. Tamil Nadu's Tayin Arun & Harish P. finished as the runner's up and the third position with a total of 8.97 & 6.27 points respectively.

The surfing women's open competition saw 14-year-old Tamil Nadu's Kamali Moorthy snatching the title from Goa's surfer and defending champion Sugar Shanthi Banarse.

Kamali who had initially registered for the Surfing Groms 16 & Under Girls category was brave enough to take the chance of competing in the Women's Open category and impressed everyone with her skills and surfing from the start. She scored a total of 12.07 points while runners-up Sugar Banarse earned 10.40 points. Karnataka's only hope in this category, Sinchana Gowda finished third with 5.93 points.

Kamali Moorthy also secured the title in the Surfing Groms 16 & Under Girls category. Kamali earned a total of 16.84 points, the highest score of the tournament on all days. Local girl, Thanishka Mendon from Aquatic Indica Surf School, Mangalore finished as the runner's up with a total of 06.43 points. Another Mangalorean surfer Saanvi Hegde finished third with a total of 6.0 points.

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