Raghul Paneer, Sinchana win titles at surfing fest

Dharini Selvakumar and Bignesh V finished second and third respectively in the senior men’s event as Tamil Nadu surfers walked away with prizes for 15 positions on offer.

Tamil Nadu surfer Raghul Paneer defended his title in the senior men’s category.

Tamil Nadu surfer Raghul Paneer defended his title in the senior men’s category while Karnataka’s Sinchana D Gowda took the top spot in the women’s event in the sixth Covelong Point Surf, Music and Yoga festival at Kovalam on Sunday.

Dharini Selvakumar and Bignesh V finished second and third respectively in the senior men’s event as Tamil Nadu surfers walked away with prizes for 15 positions on offer.

In the women’s event (all-age open), Puducherry’s Suhasini Damian and Canada’s Rebecca Davis finished second and third respectively.

In the recreational Stand Up Paddling (SUP) race, Mangalore’s Tanvi Jagadish won the top prize in the women’s section while local lad Santhoshan emerged winner among the men.

The final day of the surfing competition saw the swell in the sea dropping, which resulted in challenging conditions for the surfers.

In the recreational Longboard competition, Reunion Island’s Mondon Jerome emerged victorious while Chennai’s Vignesh came second followed by New Zealand’s Hayden Rhodes.

Surfers across all the categories in the finals were given 20 minutes each to compete under testing conditions in the sea.

Within these 20 minutes the surfers were allowed to catch 10 waves to showcase their skills, and the best two waves for each are accounted towards their competition scores by the judges.

Winners were judged on the basis of the manoeuvres performed by each surfer in the water and their ability to catch the wave.

Former South Africa cricketer Jonty Rhodes, who is the Surfing Ambassador for India and former Indian tennis player Somdev Devvarman were present at the valedictory.

The annual event is held at India’s first surfing village of Covelong and is sanctioned by the Surfing Federation of India.

Other Placings: Boys (12 and Under): 1. D Srikant (Chennai), 2. R Naveen Kumar (Chennai), 3. Vishal (Chennai). Groms (16 & Under): 1. Sivaraj (Chennai), 2. Nithish Varun (Chennai), 3. Harish Muthu (Chennai). Juniors: 1. Ramesh Budihal (Kerala), 2. P Surya (Chennai), 3. S Sathish (Chennai). Masters (31 years and above): 1. Sathosh Moorthy, 2. Murthy Megavan, 3. Mukesh Panjanatham. Men’s (Open): 1. Perceval Fayon (France), 2. Lakshita Madhusan (Sri Lanka), 3. Lesitha Prabath (Sri Lanka).