8-year-old Aaliya Latheef crowned Maldives' first junior women's surfing champion

Eight-year-old Aaliya Latheef has etched her name in history by becoming the Maldives' first-ever Junior Women's Surfing Champion at the National Junior Surfing Championships.

Competing in the Women's Under-18 category, Aaliya secured the victory in the final heat with a total score of 10.23 points, highlighted by a 4.23 on her third wave and a strong 6.00 on her sixth wave. This marked the first time the Surfing Association of Maldives (MSA) has ever held a Junior Women's event.

Finishing in second place was Aisha Tara Waasif with 7.67 points, followed by Alaika Abdul Aleem with 3.86 points, and Mariyam Zoaha Maadhih with 0.93 points.

This year's event marks the first time the Surfing Association of Maldives (MSA) has held a dedicated Junior Women's category in its championship.  

In the Men's divisions, Yaseen Ahmed Nashid took the Under-18 championship with 13.67 points, defeating last year's champion, Mohamed Inaan Abdul Hannaan with 9.77 points, in the final. Yaseen had previously won his semi-final against Ahmed Luzein, while Inaan advanced past Kayaan Abdullah Areef (Kaiputee).

The Under-16 title went to Yoosuf Kayaan Hamdhaan Zaki (Kai Zaki), who scored 13.67 points to overcome Kaiputee's 8.33 points in the final.

Kai Zaki's semi-final win was against Nooh Mohamed Dhuneim Irshad, after Kaiputee beat Yaseen in the other semi-final.

Finally, the Under-14 championship was claimed by Hussain Azan Ismail, who earned 11.33 points in the final against Ahmed Aaal Aadil's 4.43 points.

This victory was particularly special for Azan, as it was only his second time competing in the Junior Championships, having been eliminated in the semi-final after competing with Nooh, in this event last year.