Tamil Nadu International Surf Open: Sivaraj Babu, Ajeesh Ali and Kishore Kumar qualify for Round of 32

India's Sivaraj Babu, Ajeesh Ali, and Kishore Kumar qualified for the Round of 32 on Wednesday, August 16, at the Tamil Nadu International Surf Open.

Kishore Kumar was the first Indian to make it to the Round of 32 on Day 3. The Indian surfer had a tough battle against Japan's Kairi Noro. Kumar finished second with 8.80 points, while Noro topped the Heat with 8.90 points. Sanjay Selvamani, who became the first Indian to win a WSL Heat on Day 2, was eliminated after finishing with 6.45 points.

In Heat 6 of Round of 48, India's Ajeesh Ali finished with 8.35 points to qualify for the Round of 32. He finished second to Japan's Arashi Kato, who topped the Heat with 9.65 points. Nithish Varun failed to make it to the next round after finishing with a total of 6.00 points on Day 3.

In the Round of 48, Heat 7 witnessed three Indians. However, only Sivaraj Babu made it to the next round with a total of 6.80 points. Saijai Kumar, who also won a WSL Heat on Day 2, was eliminated after finishing with 4.65 points. Satish Saravanan ended the Heat in the 41st position and could not make it to the next round.

In the final Heat of Round 48 on Day 3, Robert Magaluna of the Philippines dominated with 11.50 points while India's Manikandan could manage only 3.90 points.

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Japan dominates Round of 32 of the Tamil Nadu International Surf Open

After the completion of Round 48, Day 3 witnessed Round 32 Heats as well. Out of the five Heats, Japan won four of them, and one went to Indonesia.

In Heat 1, Japan's Joh Azuchi topped the charts with 14.15 points. India's Ramesh Budihal finished in the 25th position with 6.25 points. Dhany Widianto of Indonesia won the Heat 2 with an impressive 14.15 points. Japan's Takuto Ohta grabbed the second spot in the Heat.

The Heat 3 witnessed four Japanese Surfers. In a close competition, Kairi Noro and Rinta Oooto qualified for the next round with scores over 8. Raiha Onou of Japan won Heat 4 with 10.50 points to advance to the Round of 16. Daiki won the Heat 5 with 11.65 to move to the final 16 of the Tamil Nadu International Surf Open.

Day 4 of the event will witness the Round-of-16 competition in Men's Heat and Women's Heat. India's Junior National Champion Kamali Moorthy and Senior National Champion Sugar Shanti Banarse will be in action.