Jonty Rhodes and Superstar Suniel Shetty cheer Surfers at Second Edition of Indian Open of Surfing

Jonty Rhodes and Superstar Suniel Shetty cheer Surfers at second edition of Indian Open of Surfing

Mangaluru: The second edition of the Indian Open of Surfing’ came to a picturesque finish as the Sasihithlu beach reveled with cheers for the participating surfers in the finals on May 28.

The programme began with the state anthem. Former minister Abhaychandra Jain welcomed the gathering. Prizes were distributed to the winners by Bollywood superstar Suniel Shetty, former South African Test and One Day International cricketer Jonty Rhodes, winner of Mrs India South Nischitha Shenoy and other guests on the dais.

Addressing the gathering Jonty Rhodes said, “Last week, a little boy was born in our family. Three years back, I was walking on the stretch of the Sasihithlu beach and there was nothing here back then, only bushes. Today, we can see the results of an incredible team effort. Two of the coaching staff put their efforts to train surfers to get recognition and prizes. I must thank everyone for their incredible efforts in organizing this successful event. There is even more opportunity now as surfing has been included in Olympics. I wish good luck to the winners and also the organizers.”

Bollywood star Suniel Shetty said, “It is a proud moment for Karnataka, especially Mangaluru, be to organizing the Indian Open of Surfing in Sasihithlu. I am from this area and one day as I was driving back, I had the urge to see the backwater. That was when I saw Mantra. I approached the place and saw a little boy, Kishore, working on a surfing board. There is God around this place. Surfing Swamiji is here all the way from America. He has made Sasihithlu his hometown and is teaching surfing to the kids here. Mangaloreans are very emotional and they are here to support the surfers. Many of them have worked hard to make this event a grand success.”

Suniel Shetty further said, “I promote this place and when I talk about it, I tell that surfing will go on in Sasihithlu. But people do not believe it! And when I say that Jonty Rhodes visits Mangaluru for surfing, they reply with wonder. Surfer Tanvi has made all of us Indians proud by winning the international surfing competition.”

Maldivian surfer Ammaday surfed his way to glory clinching the winner’s cheque in the Open Category while Pondicherry’s Suhasini Damian emerged as the Champion in the Women’s category. Chennai surfers Venkat K and Sekar Patchai claimed the top spots in the Masters (30 and above) and Seniors (23 – 30 Years) categories respectively. Kovallam surfers Ramesh and Ajeesh Ali sealed the winners spot in the Juniors (17-22 Years) and Groms Under 16 categories respectively. The Open category winner won a cheque worth INR 50,000 while the Runners Up earned a total of INR 25,000. The National Category winners earned a total of INR 25,000 while the second and third positions walked away with cheques worth INR 15,000 and INR 10,000 respectively. In the Novice Under-14 category, winners earned INR 10,000 while the second and third positions earned a total of INR 5,000 and INR 3,000 respectively.

What added to the celebrations for the locals and many surfing enthusiasts was the special visit of star cricketer Jonty Rhodes, who himself is an avid surfer. Bollywood action superstar Suniel Shetty, who also hails from Mangaluru, paid a special visit cheering the participants of the second edition of the Indian Open of Surfing 2017. The three-day premier surfing event, which concluded today at the Sasihithlu beach, Mangalore is part of the Karnataka Beach Festival – A Karnataka Tourism Initiative recognized by the Surfing Federation of India and organized by the Mantra Surf Club in association with the Kanara Water Sports Promotion Council.

The final day of the event experienced testing conditions that ensured the surfers were at their best to leave lasting impressions on the judges with their skills and maneuvers. Maldivian Surfer Ammaday walked away with the pole position in the Open Category, while French surfer Perceval Fayon finished second. The women’s category saw stiff competition but Pondicherry’s Suhasini Damian braved the waves to emerge as the winner, while Russian Olga Kosenko finished second and Manipal’s Ishita Malviya finished third.

Chennai’s Sekar Pitchai walked away with the winners cheque in the Men’s Stand Up Paddling (SUP) race. While Tamil Nadu’s Vignesh Vijay Kumar finished second. Kishore Kumar from Mangalore finished third in the Men’s SUP race.

Chennai surfers Venkat K and Murthy Mevagan stole the show in the Masters category (30 Years and above) finishing first and second respectively while goan surfer Sandeep Samuel finished third. The Seniors category (23 – 30 Years) saw domination from Chennai Surfers with the first, second and third positions going to Sekar Patchai, Varghese Antony and Dharani Selvakumar respectively.

Kovallam surfer Ramesh emerged champion in the junior category (17 – 22 Years), while Surya P and Rahul Govind finished second and third respectively. In the Groms Under-16 category, Kovallam’s Ajeesh Ali was crowned the national champion while Santosh Santha Kumar and Sivaraj Babu finished second and third respectively. In the Groms Under-14 category, Akhilan emerged as the champion with Subramani Muniyan finishing second and Abdul Rajak Jamaldeen finishing third.

“I would like to congratulate all the winners for their stupendous performance. I would also like to give a huge round of applause to all the participants as well for daring to brave the sea in difficult conditions. It is always special to see so many surfers come together for the Indian Open of Surfing. In only our second edition, not only the surfing community in India, but locals as well as the government has seen the potential of this event. Now with surfing becoming a part of the Asian Games, I am extremely confident that events like these will add immense value towards preparing future surfers from India. We are grateful to the Government of Karnataka for their continued support. I would also like to thank our sponsors TT Group of companies, Union Bank of India and Trip 360 by Cox & Kings for their valued support in helping us in making this event a success,” said Kishore Kumar, President of Surfing Federation of India.

Earlier in the day, local residents at Sasihithlu beach were up for a surprise. On Sunday morning, the beach unknown to many in the port city suddenly saw huge traffic and spectators in huge numbers from as early as 7:00 am in the morning to witness the semi-finals and finals of Karnataka’s first ever surfing competition, the ‘Indian Open of Surfing’.

KCCI President Jeevan Saldanha delivered the vote of thanks. Madhu Mailankody compered the programme.

Deputy Commissioner Dr Jagadeesha, Mayor Kavitha Sanil, Chief Whip Ivan D’Souza, ADC Kumar, Surfing Swami Jack Hebner, Mithun Rai, Yathish Baikampady and others were also present.

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