Surfing season begins in Gadhdhoo

'Kalhegalekoda', the first competition of the National Surf League, has started in Gaafu Dhaalu Gadhdhoo.

31 surfers are competing in the men's open division of the tournament, which will continue till Saturday, while nine surfers are competing in the men's junior under-18 category.

The latest league champion, legend Hussain Areef (Ibu), has stopped racing competitively. He recently took over as the head coach of national surfing teams.

Ahmed Agil (Ammaday), who won the 2022 league title that MSA first hosted, will also not be competing. He was second in the league last year. This is the third year of the Dhivehi Surf League.

Najah Mohamed (Kabo), who was last crowned Kalhegalekoda champion, was seeded number one in the tournament. In the first heat yesterday, he first applied a seven-point wave. The heat ended with a total score of 15.17. Sayyid Salahuddin came second with a score of 9.33.

The second heat was taken by Ahmed Rashid, who scored 10.80 points. Last year's junior league champion Kayan Abdulla Areef finished second. He scored a total of 10.77 points. His father Abdullah Areef (Fuku) finished third in the heats behind Kayan.

A total of eight heats were conducted in the first round, while athletes who secured the first and second positions in the heat were selected directly for the third round. The remaining athletes will compete in the second round.

In the third heat, Ismail Miglal (Kudaisse) and Sabah Mohamed were adjudged the third runners-up in the tournament. Hasan Nasih (Chika) and Mohamed Inan Abdul Hannan were selected in the fourth heat, while Ismail Rashid (Smiley) and Jihan Ahmed (Jikko) were selected in the fifth heat. Ahmed Saif and Jailam Nizar won the sixth heat.

Yusuf Kayan Hamdan Zaki was the top scorer in the seventh heat. Ibrahim Aiman Arif came second. Hood Ahmed (Hoobz) and Jinan Ahmed (Jinu) won the final heats.

There were three heats in the first round of the junior section. In the first heat, Kayan Abdulla Areef shot 10.93 points while Nooh Mohamed Duneim Irshad shot 7.83 points.

In the junior second heat, Yusuf Kayan Hamdan Zaki finished first with a score of 12.17. Ahmed Luzain, who scored 7.90 points, overtook Sayyid Salahuddin to finish second. Mohamed Inan finished first in the third heat with 12.67 points, while Yasin Ahmed Nashid finished second with 12.17 points.

Three athletes, who did not finish first and second in the first round heats, competed in the second round heats. Sayyid, who finished first in the heats with a score of 12.33 points, finished first. Ahmed Zayn finished second with 10.83 points.

Here are the heats of the junior quarter-finals:

- Heat 1: Kayan Abdulla, Ahmed Zayan - Heat 2: Nooh Mohamed, Ahmed Luzein - Heat 3: Yusuf Kayan, Yasin Ahmed - Heat 4: Mohamed Inan, Sayyid Salahuddin