4th edition of Indian Open Surfing: Teens Kishore Kumar, Kamali Moorthy crowned champions

MANGALURU: Tamil Nadu’s teenage sensations, Kishore Kumar and Kamali Moorthy swept through the top honours in both the men’s and women’s categories viz: Groms and Open to be crowned as the Men’s and Women’s champions respectively in the 4th edition of Indian Open of Surfing on Saturday.



The three-day premier surfing competition of India which was hosted by Mantra Surf Club at Sashithlu beach, got major support from Karnataka Tourism department with Cycle Pure Agarbathies and Jai Hind Group as principal partners.

Kishore, walked away with a cash prize of Rs 50,000, followed by Srikanth D (Rs 30,000) and Surya P (Rs 20,000) in Men’s Open category. Kamali was handed over the cheque of Rs 30,000 for securing first position in the Women’s Open category followed by Sugar (Rs 20,000) and Sinchana (Rs 10,000) for second and third position respectively. In Groms, boys under 16 category, Kishore (Rs 20,000 ); Tayin Arun (Rs 15,000) and Harish P (Rs 10, 000) got the cash prizes for the top three positions. Similarly, girls under 16 saw Kamali, Thanishka and Saanvi winning the top three position.

Former minister Abhaychandra Jain said, “Sasihithlu beach is very prominent for the sport of surfing. I assure you all that for the next event, we will get the state Tourism Minister and bring an international event to his venue.”

The day began with the semifinals of the men’s open surf category which saw Tamil Nadu’s teenager Kishore Kumar maneuvering majestically on waters, thereby advancing to the finals with the highest score of 14 in the category and was joined by 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 he emerged as a champion with a 15.67 score

Kishore said, “I would like to thank my coaches at Surf Turf for all the support. I am happy to win two titles in a day and these wins will surely uplift my confidence to perform well in the upcoming championships and events.”

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 Under -16 Girls category was brave enough to take the chance of competing in the Women’s open category. She scored a total of 12.07 points while runner’s up Sugar Banarse earned 10.40 points. Karnataka’s Sinchana Gowda finished third with 5.93 points.

Kamali Moorthy also secured the title in the Surfing Groms under 16 girl’s 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, finished as the runner’s up with a total of 6.43 points. Another Mangalorean surfer Saanvi Hegde finished third with a total of 6.0 points.


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