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The second day of the fifth edition of the Indian Open of Surfing began with a beautiful morning and enticing waves at the Sasihithlu beach here.
The three-day premier surfing competition of India is the official national championship of the Surfing Federation of India - the governing body for the sport of surfing and stand-up paddling. Tamil Nadu surfers extended their dominance on Day 2 by securing all four final spots in the Men's Open category, and two spots in the Women's Open category. Day 2 started with the quarterfinals of the Men's Open surf category, where Sivaraj Babu and the Tamil Nadu surfers continued their dominance from the previous day, with Sivaraj gathering the highest points (15.17) of the day. The other surfers in this category who joined Sivaraj in the semifinals were Sanjaikumar S (12.83), Sanjay Selvamani (11.63), Ajeesh Ali (11.43), Srikanth D (10.33), Manivanna T (9.40), Harish M (9.23), and Ruban V (7.93). The day's proceedings continued with the Surfing Groms 16 and Under Boys quarterfinals, where Harish P, currently ranked 5th in India, scored the highest in the category with 10.17. The competition was intense between East and West coast surfers, with the Pujar brothers keeping Karnataka's hopes alive. Other top scorers who advanced to the semifinals included Tayin Arun (7.60), Prahlad Sriram (7.17), Raju Pujar (7.33), Pradeep Pujar (6.47), Akash Pujar (5.80), Yogesh A (4.40), and Som Sethi (4.40). The semifinals and finals of this category will take place tomorrow. The day also featured the semifinals of the Women's Open surf category, where defending champion Kamali Moorthi impressed the judges with her manoeuvring and surfing skills, scoring 11.23 points. Goa surfer Sugar Banarase put up a strong challenge, scoring 8.93 points. The other two surfers who qualified for the finals are Neha Vaid (2.20) and Marielle Wunderink (1.87). The finals will be held tomorrow. Speaking post booking her slot in the finals, Kamali said, "The conditions were a little tricky as the waves were breaking back to back, making it take some time to paddle in. There was some competition in the heats as well. I have no pressure, but if I keep thinking about the finals tomorrow, I'll start feeling it. So, I just want to have fun and I look forward to defending my title tomorrow". Wrapping up the day was the Men's Open category semifinal, which displayed fierce competition among the country's top surfers. Sanjaikumar S, Sanjay Selvamani, Srikanth D, and Ajeesh Ali earned their places in the final with scores of 11.17, 11.03, 9.90, and 9.70 respectively. The highlight of the category was the surprising elimination of Sivaraj Babu, the top scorer from the previous day and today, who did not make it to the finals for tomorrow. Speaking post booking his slot in the finals, Sanjaikumar said,"Today's surfing conditions were good, with a bit of wind adding to the challenge. We had strong competition and felt some pressure. For the final tomorrow, I aim to play my natural game and hope to win the title". The three-day surfing extravaganza is organized by the Surfing Swami Foundation and hosted by Mantra Surf Club, under the aegis of the Surfing Federation of India. (ANI)
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