CHENNAI : Sekar Patchai and Tanvi Jagadish successfully defended their National Stand Up Paddle Championships title, bagging the gold medal in their respective disciplines here. The Nationals was being hosted at the Alampara Surf Turf under the aegis of the Surfing Federation of India (SFI), the governing body for the surfing & stand up paddling in India.
“It feels very good to defend my title. I would also like to thank the SFI for restarting all the competitions as these competitions will play a key role in preparing all of us for the season ahead nationally and internationally,” said an elated Patchai, the only male athlete to have represented India at the World Stand Up Paddling Championships, after defending his title.
The field at the Alampara Stand Up Paddle National Championship 2022 saw participants from across the country and featured Technical and Sprint races for the first time in the country as per international racing standards. What was very encouraging was a strong representation of women in the competition this time.
A visibly ecstatic Jagdish, the only female athlete to have represented India at the World Stand Up Paddling Championships, said, “It’s a very happy feeling first that competitions in Stand Up Paddling are back and then to defend my title. I think the SFI has done a great job in promoting the sport and I was pleasantly surprised to see so many women competing this year. I hope that this only grows from here and we have many more competitions to participate in this year.”
“It’s very encouraging to see that even after a very tough two years we could host the National Stand Up Paddling Championship with such a fantastic turnout. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Alampara Surf Turf for hosting the National Championships and for ensuring all participants and visitors are well taken care of. As a federation we are committed to the growth of Surfing & Stand Up Paddling in India and it makes me very happy to see the field this year that spread across a wide area of the country. I am confident that this year will be a busy year for us and our athletes and we will see many more surfing & stand up paddling events being organized,” said Arun Vasu, President, SFI.
Around 50 participants including men and women were competing at the recently concluded Alampara Stand Up Paddle National Championship 2022. The scenic Alampara backwaters are suitable for development of paddle sports as well as wind sports. The SFI has been promoting the sport since the last decade with regular events and outreach programs to create grassroots growth of the sport.
RESULTS:
StandUp Paddle Technical Race (2 km, Nationals, Male)
Gold: Sekar Patchai
Silver: Manikandan M.
Bronze: Santosh S.
StandUp Paddle Sprint (200 meters, Nationals, Female)
Gold: Tanvi Jagadish
Silver: Monicka P
Bronze: Gayatri Juvekar
StandUp Paddle Sprint (2pm meters, Nationals, Male)
Gold: Sekar Patchai
Silver: Manikandan M.
Bronze: Sanjay Selvamani
