Najah and Kayan win first place in the “Kalhegalekoda” Surfing tournament

The first surfing tournament of the surfing league this year, Gaaf Dhaal Gahdhoo “Kalhegalekodaa” tournament held by the Maldives Surfing Association (MSA) saw Najaah Mohamed (Kabo) triumph the Men’s Open while Kayan Abdulla Areef (Kaiputty) secured the Junior U18 Boys’ championship.

Kabo had also competed in the Kalhegalekoda finals during the first Surf League held on 2022. Although he came second that year, Kabo had persistently triumphed the championships held in his hometown for the following two years.

In the Finals held yesterday, Kabo triumphed the league after facing off against Hood Ahmed (Hoobz), with a score of 13.06 points. Kabo had acquired himself 7.33 and 5.73 points during best waves. Hoobz had collected 5.83 points during the second wave and 5.73 during the seventh wave, resulting in a total of 11.56 points.

Kabo had progressed to the league finals after succeeding a competitive heat against Ismail Miglal (Kuda Isse) who had gathered 15.23 points. Hoobz had triumphed over Ismail Rasheed (Smiley) with 16 points in the semifinals while Smiley had secured 13 points in this heat.

Smiley had also made the record for the highest heat score of the tournament with an impressive score of 17 points during his heat against Jailam Nizaar in the quarterfinals. In his first wave, Smiley had accumulated 8 points while his third wave garnered 9 points. He had gathered a total of 8.27 points during this heat.

Kuda Isse secured the Semi Finals following his win over Ahmed Rasheed who surfed the same heat in the Quarter Finals with a leading difference of 1 point. Kuda Isse had collected 12 points during this heat.

In the Kalhegalekodaa Surf League, two junior surfers had advanced to the Quarter Finals; Kaiputty and Yousuf Kayan Hamdhaan Zaki (Kai Zaki). Competing against Hoobz, Kai Zaki had collected 9.80 points while Hoobz succeeded to the semifinals with a score of 13.83 points. Kaiputty had faced off against Kabo in the Quarters and accumulated 10.20 points while kabo had secured his spot in the Semi Finals with a total of 12.23 points.

A strong start to the Junior Champion

This year marks the first year where Kaiputty, who had triumphed the preceding Dhivehi Surf League’s Junior Championships, advanced to the Kalhegalekoda league finals. While he had faced defeat in the Quarterfinals during the first year in 2022, Kaiputty had advanced his play by another level last year with his advancement to the Semifinals.

Kaiputty had secured his win in the finals yesterday after scoring a total of 15.50 points against fellow competitor, Mohamed Inan Abdul Hannan. While Kaiputty had collected 7 points during his third wave, his fourth wave saw a score of 8.50 points. Inan’s score of 5 points in his fourth wave and 5.73 points in his sixth wave collected a total of 10.73 points.

Kai Zaki, who had advanced to the finals during last year’s competition had contended in the semifinals this year. However, his defeat during his match against Inan was with a 1.33-point difference. He had competed against Ahmed Luzain during the semifinals and succeeded.

In the Junior Championship Quarterfinals, Inan had advanced ahead of Sayyid Salahudheen. Furthermore, Kai Zaki had also triumphed over Yasin Ahmed Nashid. While Luzain had progressed to the Semifinals following his win against Nooh Mohamed Dhunaim Irshad, Kaiputty advanced to the Semi finals after securing victory against Ahmed Zayaan.