Sixth edition of the Kovalam surfing championship to start on August 17

South African cricketing great Jonty Rhodes will feature in the surfing competition alongside 100 top surfers from 10 countries across the world .

Surfers from Indian states of Kerala, Odisha, Karnataka, Goa and Tamil Nadu will be featuring the competition.

The 6th Edition of the Covelong Point Surfing Championship will be held in Kovalam, Chennai from August 17 to August 19.

Former South African all-rounder Jonty Rhodes, who is an avid surfer, will take part in the event, which is recognised by the Surfing Federation of India.

Over 100 surfers from across India along with top surfers from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Australia, France and USA will participate in the event.

“India has a great potential for being a successful nation in surfing," said Arun Vasu, Managing Director of the organising company TT Group.

“This year’s Covelong Point Surfing competition is bigger and we expect it to be even more competitive compared to the previous five editions. We look forward to an amazing competition this year," he added.

Raghul Paneerselvam, the defending champion in the seniors category, who looked all set to make a lasting impact on the festival said, “This festival has always given an opportunity to the surfers to excel In the sport. Over the years the level of competition has grown immensely and we are really looking forward to a tough competition this year”.

The winner in 2017 in the women all-age group category, Suhasini Damian, said, "The surfing competition gets tougher every year and surely, it'll continue to raise the bar this year too. I have to step up to compete along with others in the forthcoming surfing competition. It's a great opportunity to develop new skills and tune in to be competitive."

The competition will see contestants competing in seven categories in — Novice (U12); Groms (U16); Juniors (17-22 Years); Seniors (23-30 Years); Masters (31 Years and above); Women (all ages); and Open Category (Foreign Nationals).