Despite strong winds and heavy rain, Maryam Rihal (Aya) Naseem has advanced to the third round of the Asian Surfing Championship.
This is Aya's first time reaching the third round in Asia's largest surfing competition, after successfully passing the first round. In last year's event, she was unable to advance past the first round.
Last year, after competing in the first round and not qualifying for the third, Aya had to participate in the playoff round, or the second round of repechage. Unfortunately, when she didn't succeed there either, she had to withdraw from the tournament.
This morning, when surfers entered the water to compete in the first round of the women's event, strong winds and heavy rain persisted. For some athletes, even holding onto the board in the strong winds was a challenge. Competing in heat four of the women's division, Aya scored 3.16 points. China's Siqi Yan, who won that heat, scored 9.27. Iran's Yasmin Hussein Zadi Atari, who was scheduled to compete in that heat, did not participate. Shaziya Saeed (Saazu), the second female athlete from the Maldives and this year's flag bearer, came in third in her heat.
Her journey to the third round has been delayed, as she now needs to compete in the playoff round to earn a spot. Japan's Arisa Ishi won the heat that Saazu participated in afterward, scoring 8.77 points. India's Kamali Prakash took second place with 7.27 points, while Saazu finished with 2.04 points.
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