The two-day Palk Bay Stand-Up Paddle (SUP) Challenge 2023 commenced at Pirappanvalasai beach in Ramanathapuram district on Thursday.
Over 80 Stand-Up paddlers from across the country are participating in the vent, which is being organised by Surfing Federation of India and is being supported by Tamil Nadu Surfing Association and other sports bodies.
Welcoming the participants, Ramanathapuram Collector B. Vishnu Chandran thanked them for their support in development of the sports. Such a large presence of nationally-acclaimed players would encourage others to participate in this sport, he added.
On the opening day, a two-km race was conducted in which Tamil Nadu players led by Sekar, Manikandan and Santhosan bagged the first three places. Monica, Vijayalakshmi and Sinchana D Gowda bagged prizes in the women’s category. There are also events for Under-16, technical category for men and sprint (open).
Race Director Nawaz Jabbar said that the water was flat, but at the same time, conditions were deceptive as there were gusts of wind blowing across. The wind was steady with slight change in directions, making the conditions challenging for sprint on the opening day.
The second day (Friday) will see few more events followed by prize distribution in the evening.
