Last Saturday I went to photograph the first edition of the ‘All Cargo Indian Open of Surfing’ at the Sasihithlu beach. Surfing got underway at 7AM with perfect surfing conditions at the Sasihithlu beach. There was little haze and cloud which later lead to a light drizzle. Pre Monsoon swell of the sea was very conducive for the surfing. The second day included the preliminary rounds for the Under 16, Junior’s (17-22 Years), Senior’s (23-28 Years) and Open category.
The three-day surfing extravaganza is the first ever surfing championship hosted in Karnataka and was a part of the Karnataka Surfing Festival, promoted by Karnataka tourism. The championship is sanctioned by the International Surfing Association and is organized under the aegis of the Surfing Federation of India. The Mantra Surf Club in association with Kanara Surfing & Water Sports Promotion Council Surfers put together the inaugural edition of the All Cargo Indian Open of Surfing.
I photographed all these captures on two cameras and two lens combinations. Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM with Canon EF 1.4x III Extender or Canon EF 2X III Extender on Canon EOS 80D as well as Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM Lens with Canon EF 1.4x III Extender or Canon EF 2X III Extender on Canon EOS 5DS R. 500mm f/4L was mounted on tripod while the 70-200 combo was hand held. Since I could manage only one camera at a time I was alternating between the two.
Auroville’s, Samai Reboul surfed his way to glory to become the first ever winner of the ‘All Cargo Indian Open of Surfing’. Manikandan from Chennai finished as the runner’s up the championship. Samai walked away with a cash prize on INR 50,000, while Manikandan won INR 25,000 along with their respective winner’s and Runner’s up trophies.
In the Groms Under 16 category Pondicherry’s Perceval Fayon finished as the winner followed by Sanjay Selvamani & Manikandan M from Tamil Nadu finished in the second and third positions respectively. The Chennai trio of Raghul Govind, Surya P and Ajith Kumar walked away with the first, second and third places in the Juniors (17-22 years) category.
Dharani Selvakumar, Raghul Paneer and Manikandan D from Chennai finished first, second and third respectively in the Seniors (23-28 years) category. Chennai’s Moorthy Megavan finished first in the Masters (29 & above) category while Santosh Moorthy from Mahabalipuram, and Pondicherry’s Velu finished third.
Local girl Sinchana D Gowda and Tanvi J finished first and third respectively in the women’s category while Chinamyee Mayya from Udupi finished second. In the men’s stand up paddling category, Chennai’s Sekar Pachai, Murthy Meghavan and Vicky V walked away with the first, second and third places respectively.
Local girls Tanvi J and Sinchana D Gowda finished first and third respectively in the women’s standup paddeling category, while Chennai’s Vilassini Sundar finished second.
