Young athletes have secured their spots in the semi-finals of the 2026 Mulikolhu Raalhugandu currently being held at M. Muli.
There are 23 competitors in the Open stage of the Mulikolhu Raalhugandu, the second tournament being held as part of the Dhivehi Surf League this year. Three of the four semi-finalists are surfers below 18 years old.
The first heat will see Yasin Ahmed compete against Sayyid Salahuddin. In the second heat, Hussain Azan Ismail will be surfing against Surf League champion Ahmed Agil (Ammadey).
The younger athletes had beat out the more experienced surfers in the first tournament that took place this year in Fuvahmulah. The semi-final of that tournament only had surfers who were below 18 years of age. 16-year-old Yasin claimed the champion title in that competition.
Yasin got to the semi-final of the 2026 Mulikolhu Raalhugandu by beating Mohamed Inan Abdul Hannan by a 1.17 point difference in the quarter-final heat. Yasin had scored a total of 12.67 points in the heat. In the second heat, Sayyid had scored 9.60 points and won over Nooh Mohamed Dhunaim Irushad with a 0.5 point difference. Azan beat Kayan Abdulla Areef in the third heat by getting 8.73 points, beating out Kayan with a 0.9 point difference.
In the final heat of the quarter-final, Agil went up against Ismail Rasheed (Smiley), with this being the only heat where the surfers were older than 18 years of age. Agil won the heat by scoring a total of 10.50 points with a 0.34 point difference.
Athletes have gone through to the semi-final of the U-18 Junior stage of the Mulikolhu Raalhugandu as well.
A total of 16 competitors surfed in the Junior stage. The first heat of the semi-final will see Azaan surf against Kayan Areef. The second heat will be between Inan and Ahmed Rafan Raoof.
There were two heats in the quarter-finals of the Junior stage. Nooh, who had been named the Junior champion in the tournament that took place in Fuvahmulah, was beaten by Azaan and Rafan, who secured better points in the first heat. Azaan scored 7.57 points and placed first in the heat. Rafan placed second with 6.40 points and Nooh scored 5.73 points.
In the second heat of the Junior quarter-finals, Inan placed first with 10.17 points. Kayan Areef placed second with 9.50 points and Yasin scored 6.26 points.
