Maldives junior surfers win copper medal at Asian championships

Maldives under 18 men’s surfing team has won the copper medal at this year’s Asian Sailing Championships, finishing fourth overall and pushing hosts India into fifth place.

The team, including Yaseen Ahmed Nashid, Yoosuf Kayan Hamdhan Zaki (Kai Zaki) and Kayan Abdulla Areef (Kaiputty) scored a combined 1,403 points.

In the junior division, Kaiputty exited in the second round. Kai Zaki and Yaseen reached the quarter-finals, alongside an Indian competitor. Last year’s semi-finalist Kai Zaki scored 8.23 in the first heat of the quarters, finishing fourth, while Yaseen placed third in his quarter-final heat with 7.43. India’s Harish P was fourth with 6.80.

Chinese Taipei won bronze with 1,653 points. South Korea took silver with 2,060, and China secured gold on 2,260 points. The junior final featured three Chinese surfers, with South Korea’s Kanoa Heejae taking the title ahead of China’s Shidong Wu and Shulou Jiang. Lihao Zhang was fourth. Heejae also won the men’s open title.

Maldives did not compete in the women’s under-18 category, contested by five nations. China won gold, Thailand silver, Chinese Taipei bronze, India fourth and South Korea fifth.

The junior women’s final was won by China’s Sigi Yang, with Thailand’s Shuhan Jin second, Isabella Higgs third and South Korea’s Shin Joobin fourth.