Mangaluru youths shine on the first day of India Paddle Festival

Mangaluru youths dominate Under-16 category at India Paddle Festival, showcasing talent in stand-up paddling championship.

Mangaluru youths Akash Pujar and his cousin Raju Pujar took the first two positions, while South Korean Jihoon Hwang stood third in the Under-16 category final race held on the inaugural day of the three-day India Paddle Festival Stand-Up paddling championship that got underway on Friday, March 8. The event is being held at the pristine Sasihiltu beach, off Mangaluru.

Class 10 student Akash Pujar clocked 43:04 minutes to emerge as the winner, while his cousin Raju Pujar came second with 47:24 minutes. Jihoo Hwang clocked 52:52 minutes and stood third.

Mr. Akash told reporters that despite the pressure of preparing for the Class 10 examinations, he did not stop his training. The six month-long dedicated training helped in emerging winner in the Under-16 category, he said.

Mr. Hwang said this was the first time he was participating in the event in India. The conditions were challenging but he relished the experience of paddling in Indian waters, he said.

Mr. Akash will feature in the Men’s Open Category races to be held on the second day of the competition on Saturday, March 9, where world no. 2 Fernando Perez and Junior World Stand-Up Paddling champion Bianca Toncelli will also participate. The second day will also have a race in the women’s category that will feature world no. 2 Esperanza Barreras.

Over 40 athletes from 13 countries including the U.S., Thailand, Spain, South Korea, and host India will take part in the three-day competition presented by the Karnataka government and hosted by the Surfing Swami Foundation. Speaker U.T. Khader inaugurated the event on Friday.