The Palkbay National Stand-Up Paddling Championships 2022 came to an end on Friday at the Pirappanavalsai beach.
The two-day event saw intense competitions in various categories for men, women and groms (U16) and the finals of Distance Race (12 Km for men and 6 Km for women) and Sprint (200 m) were held on Friday. Sekar Patchai and Monicka Pugazharasu have been adjudged the National Champions of the Men's and Women's Distance Race.
"It feels great to be a National Champion by beating Gayatri Juvekar who won the technical race yesterday and in a field of other tough racers", said Monicka after winning the Women's Distance Race (6 Km).
The 200 m sprint race for women saw Monicka and Gayatri fighting for top honours. In the end, Gayatri Juvekar finished ahead of Monicka in a tightly contested race. "The race between Monicka and me are always tight and competitive and I am happy that I won the sprint today", said Gayatri after winning the Women's 200m sprint race. She was placed second in the Distance race earlier on Friday.
Seven-Time National Champion Sekar Patchai, after winning both the Men's Distance (12Km) race and Sprint race (200 M) said, "I feel excited to win all three races here this week and today the races were tight and I had to maintain my stamina and endurance throughout the race in tough conditions. In the sprint race, my only aim was to paddle from start to finish at one pace".
The event was held as a part of the week long Rameshwaram SUP Week held under the aegis of the Surfing Federation of India. The 7-day long Rameswaram SUP Week aims to promote and grow the sport of Stand-Up Paddling.
Arun Vasu, President of the Surfing Federation of India said "This year was one of the most competitive National Championships and all the races were exciting to watch. I am happy for the improvement that the seasoned paddlers showed and also excited about the future of the sport as there are many new talents that are coming up for the Championships which will increase the competition in the upcoming events".
The National Championship was played across three categories viz; Sprint (200m), Technical (2 Km) and Distance (12 Km for men and 6 Km for women). An open category race for non-ranking athletes to test their paddle strength and speed in the Sprints class of racing was also held on Friday.
( With inputs from ANI )
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