Covelong Classic: TN surfers stamp authority, Ramesh Budhial keeps Karnataka’s hopes alive

Kovalam (Tamil Nadu), Aug 9 (PTI) Tamil Nadu surfers continued to dominate on Day 2 of the Covelong Classic, the last leg of the national surfing championship.

On its second day here, the top surfers from across the country squared off for a spot in the semi-finals, slated to happen on Saturday.

Harish M of Tamil Nadu presented his skilled manoeuvres and acrobatic flair on the waves as he impressed the judges on Friday morning and attained the highest score of the day — 12.20 points.

The Men’s Open Category quarter-finals witnessed 16 surfers entering the semi-finals, with Sivaraj Babu of Tamil Nadu attaining the highest points — 11.66 points.

Defending champion Srikanth D was right behind the leader at 11.50 points, whereas Ramesh Budhial of Karnataka had a score of 8.40.

Among other notable surfers advancing to the quarter-finals are Kishore Kumar (11.0), Sanjay Selvamani (10.50), Sanjaikumar S (8.67), Ajeesh Ali (8.50), Nithishvarun T (8.30), Tayin Arun (8.13), Surya P (7.77), Raghul P (7.70), Ruban V (7.67), Ragul Govind (7.20) and Manivannan T (6.03).

Following the best performance of the day, Harish M said, “I’m thrilled to have earned the highest score of the day despite the tough and challenging conditions. The weak tides caused delays, but I’m glad to have secured my spot in the semi-finals.

“I’m aiming to keep up my performance tomorrow, even though the pressure is on with the strong competition I’ll be facing”.

The final day of the competition will be action-packed with the semi-finals and finals in the Men’s Open, Women’s Open, Groms 16 & Under Boys, and Groms 16 & Under Girls categories.