THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The second edition of the International Surfing Festival came to a close at Varkala’s Papanasam Beach after three days of competition. More than 50 athletes, including international surfers, participated in four different categories.
In the men’s open category, Kishore Kumar won with 13 points against 11 points scored by his opponent. In the Women’s Open, Sugar Shanti Banarse claimed the top spot. Harish P won in the Groms 16 & Under Boys category with a score of 13.84 against 7.64.
Team Percy won in the International Aloha Tag Team event with 17.37 points. The festival was aimed to promote surfing as an adventure sport in India and to position the state as one of the country’s premier surfing destinations.
Organised under the initiative of the Kerala Tourism Department, the event was hosted by the Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society (KATPS) in association with the Thiruvananthapuram DTPC. Technical support was provided by the Surfing Federation of India (SFI) and International Surfing Association (ISA).
Film actor and surfer Sudev presented the prizes at the closing ceremony. Also present were Edava grama panchayat president A Balik, DTPC Secretary Satheesh Miranda, KATPS CEO Binu Kuriakose, and SFI representatives Ram Mohan and Navas.