Indian surfers Ramesh Budihal and Kishore Kumar scripted history on Saturday, becoming the first from the country to reach the semifinals of the Asian Surfing Championships in the Open Men’s category.
Budihal, in action in the first heat of the day, dominated his quarterfinal with a score of 14.84, finishing ahead of the Philippines’ Neil Sanchez (12.80).
“This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. I had gone out in the morning to catch a couple of waves. And I thought this was what I needed to do in my heats as well. It’s a proud moment for us,” said Budihal, speaking after his heat.
The surfer, who had missed out competing in last year’s championship in Maldives, was thrilled to make the most of his chance.
“If I had the opportunity last year, I would have probably done better. I was quite bummed about it. But this, I’m making sure I’m using it well,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kishore, competing in the final heat of the men’s open, delivered a composed performance to place second with 10.50, behind heat-topper Eduardo Alciso of the Philippines (12.03). Last year, the young Indian talent had competed in the Under-18 category of the 2024 edition and became the first from the country to reach the semifinals in that age group.
With only the top two from each of the four heats advancing, India secured two semifinal berths. Srikanth D narrowly missed out, finishing third in Heat 3 with 10.90.
The men’s open semifinalists are Budihal, Sanchez, Mega Artana (Indonesia), Shidong Wu (China), Pajar Ariyana (Indonesia), Kanoa Heejae (South Korea), Alciso, and Kishore.
Earlier, in the U-18 girls’ section, Aadya Singh and Dhamayanthi Sriram advanced to the third round after strong performances in the repechage second round. Saanvi Hegde was eliminated in the same stage.
