Silver for Indian men’s team at 3rd Asian Surfing Championships 2024
Sport
3 min read
The Indian men’s surfing team won a historic silver medal at the 3rd Asian Surfing Championships 2024, held at Thulusdhoo, Maldives. Maldives is hosting the 3rd Asian Surfing Championships 2024 at the picturesque island of Thulusdhoo from 17- 27 August 2024.
The 3rd Asian Surfing Championships is also a qualifying event for the 2026 Asian Games to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The surfing game will be introduced for the first time in an Asian Games at the 2026 Asian Games.
Gold for Japan and Silver for India in the Maruhaba Cup
Over 100 athletes from 20 countries participated in the five events at the 3rd Asian Surfing Championships 2024. These events included the men's and women's open division, a junior category, and a team event entitled ASF Maruhaba Cup.
Japan won the gold and the Maruhaba Cup with 58.40 points. The Indian men’s team, consisting of Kamali P, Ajeesh Ali, Srikanth D and Sanjay Selvamani, won the silver medal with a score of 24.13.
The Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), with 23.93 points, took third place and the bronze medal.
Qualification for the 2026 Asian Games
The Indian men’s and women’s teams secured the quota for the 2024 Asian Games due to their performance in the 3rd Asian Surfing Championships 2024. The quotas were awarded to the teams and the players based on the ranking points earned by surfers at the 3rd Asian Surfing Championships.
A total of eight Indian surfers competed in Maldives across four categories.
Harish Muthu became the first Indian to qualify for the quarter-finals before he lost in a tight contest.
Asian Surfing Championship
The first Asian Surfing Championship was held in China in 2019. Following its success, the Asian Games Organising Committee decided to include Surfing in the 2026 Asian Games.
The second Asian Surfing Championship was held at Thulusdhoo, Maldives, in 2023.
