CHENNAI: India’s Ramesh Budihal continued his fine run, becoming the first Indian to reach the final after securing second place in a hard-fought semi-final round at the ongoing Asian Surfing Championships at Mahabalipuram on Saturday.
Indonesia’s Pajar Ariyana proved too strong for the rest of the field in the semi-final heat, closing with a total score of 13.83 to claim the top spot. Ramesh finished second with 11.43, while fellow Indian Kishore Kumar fell short, placing fourth with 8.10.
Ramesh opened the semi-final with two cutbacks to earn 2.67 on his first wave, but he bounced back confidently on his third attempt, producing a three-turn combo. Unfortunately, his board got caught in the white-wash towards the end, and he scored 5.50. With three minutes remaining, he produced another clean run, this time with a tail drift, to score 5.93 on his fourth attempt.
“My start was not good, it was not how I planned it, and it was hard to find my rhythm. It was not sticking enough, but somehow the gods gave me some good waves and I managed to put some scores together,” said Ramesh after qualifying for the final.
There was late drama, with China’s Shidong Wu closing in on Ramesh’s position after scoring 4.20 in his fifth attempt, threatening to knock the Indian out of the final spot. With seconds left, Ramesh had to quickly return to catch another wave and attempt to secure crucial points.
“I was not nervous, but I had to re-check and reset my mind in the last five minutes. There was a set rolling in, and I had to pick the right one and give it everything I had. I made it,” Ramesh added.
Kishore struggled to make an impact for much of the heat. With two minutes to go, he attempted a ride but was caught at the top of the wave, eventually finishing with a total score of 8.10.