Day 1 of NMPA Indian Open of Surfing 2026 witnesses fierce battle

Mangaluru: The seventh edition of the NMPA Indian Open of Surfing got under way at the Blue Bay Tannirbhavi Eco Beach on Friday, with surfers from across the country taking to the waves on the opening day of one of India’s premier surfing competitions.

Serving as a key stop in the National Championship Series, and an important event in India’s Asian Games selection cycle, the championship began under excellent surfing conditions, with clean waves and favourable weather providing the perfect stage for the country’s top surfers.

In the Women’s Open category, Kamali Moorthy, Sugar Shanthi Banarse, Ishita Malaviya, Devi Ramanathan, Saanvi Hegde and Shrishti Selvam advanced to the semi-finals, scheduled for the final day of the championship.

The event was inaugurated by former minister Abhayachandra Jain and deputy commissioner Darshan HV, along with other dignitaries.

Competition on the opening day featured action across the men’s Open, women’s open, under-18 boys and under-14 boys divisions. While the men’s open category completed its opening round across 12 heats, the women’s open competition progressed through the quarter-final stage. The junior categories also witnessed intense competition, with the under-18 boys division contesting its opening-round heats and the newly introduced under-14 boys category advancing through the quarter-finals.

The day began with the men’s open category, where 45 surfers competed across 12 heats in a fierce battle for qualification. The top two surfers from each heat progressed to round 2, scheduled for Saturday.

Among the standout performers were Kishore Kumar (12.90), Ramesh Budihal (12.57), Tayin Arun (12.10), Sanjaikumar S (11.84), Ajeesh Ali (11.74), Akilan S (11.66), Sivaraj Babu (11.33), Sanjay Selvamani (11.33), Harish M (10.27), Srikanth D (9.33), Ruban V (7.93) and Som Sethi (7.30). The women’s open quarter-finals saw Tamil Nadu’s Kamali Moorthy emerge as the highest scorer of the day across all categories with a score of 13.83.

Shamanth Kumar, secretary, Karnataka Surfing Association (KSA), said, “The response from surfers and the local community has been extremely positive. This championship plays a very important role in the national ranking system and India’s preparations for future international events, including the Asian Games.”

Saurabh Verma, manager, athlete relations, Sports Authority of India, also spoke.

The championship is being organised by the Mantra Surf Club and Surfing Swami Foundation under the aegis of the Surfing Federation of India (SFI), with support from the govt of Karnataka and the KSA.