Sekar Patchai clinches distance and sprint titles in National Stand-Up Paddling Championship 2024

Sekar Patchai had earlier won the tehchnical title in Palkbay SUP Challenge 2024.

Sekar Patchai from Tamil Nadu dominated the men’s category at the Palkbay SUP Challenge 2024, sweeping all the titles for the hosts in this year’s National Stand-Up Paddling Championship, organized by Quest Academy under the aegis of the Surfing Federation of India. Sekar added the Distance and Sprint race titles to the Technical Race title he won yesterday, completing his clean sweep.

In the women’s division, Tanvi Jagdish claimed the Distance Race title, newly introduced to the championship, rounding off her double victory. Local favorite Anandi Arthi dethroned defending champion Monika P to win the Sprint race. The two-day national championship wrapped up today at Pirappanvalasi Beach, Rameswaram.

Commenting on the championship’s successful conclusion, Jehan Driver, an international SUP coach and the Director of Quest Academy as well as the General Secretary of the Surfing Federation of India, expressed his delight, “It’s incredibly satisfying to see the rising popularity and development of water sports like Stand-Up Paddling. This year, we set a new participation record.

The Palkbay SUP Challenge serves as a valuable platform for young athletes to demonstrate their abilities and face top-level competition from across the country. We are deeply thankful to the Tamil Nadu Government and our sponsors for their hard work and dedication in making this championship a success.”

Also Read: Palkbay SUP Challenge 2024: Sekar Patchai successfully defends men’s technical title

Local grom Anandi Arthi stuns Monika and Tanvi in Sprint Women category

Defending champion Monika P and strong contender Tanvi Jagdish, who secured the technical race title in the women’s category yesterday, were stunned today by 14-year-old Anandi Arthi from the local Pirappanvalasai village.

Arthi comfortably walked away with the Sprint Women’s race title with an impressive timing of 2:08.43. Karnataka’s Tanvi finished second with a time of 2:23.46, while Tamil Nadu’s Monika came third with 2:26.55 in the 200m category.

“The feeling of becoming the champion in the Sprint category fills me with immense joy and pride, especially since I managed to defeat more experienced and former champions. The competition was fierce, but I had faith in myself, and finally, my hard work paid off.

Also, I am thankful to my coach Jehan sir who have been working hard with me and because of him only this victory has been possible today,” said Anandi Arthi after winning Sprint race title in the women’s category.

Sekar retains SUP Distance Men title

Sekar Patchai who won the technical race title yesterday, also emerged victorious in the Distance (12 KM) men’s category therefore defended his title from the previous edition. He finished the race with a timing of 1:26:40.62 while Manikandan M followed him closely to complete the race in second place with a timing of 1:28:23.78. Akash Pujar from Karnataka stood third with a timing of 1:43:42.94.

Sekar reclaims SUP Sprint Men’s title

Continuing his winning momentum from Day 1, Sekar emerged victorious in the SUP Sprint Men (200M) category, his third title of the championship. He finished the grueling race with a timing of 1:23.83. Fellow stand-up paddler from Tamil Nadu, Manikandan M, also delivered an impressive performance, securing second place with a timing of 1:25.46, while Selvarasan Nagamuthu finished third with a timing of 1:31.41.

“There was some pressure on me to win the sprint race category as my performance was not up to the mark last year in the same category but I am happy that I have been able to perform as per I planned and claimed the all three Technical, Distance and Sprint titles at the championship,” said Sekar Patchai after clean sweeping all the titles in the men’s category.

Tanvi completes her double

Tanvi Jagdish of Karnataka completed her double after winning the SUP Distance Women race today with a timing of 1:14:27.86. Tanvi won the Technical Women race yesterday. Monika P claimed the second the spot with a timing of 1:38:10.59 while Priyadharshine B stood third with a timing of 2:09:38.78.

Gokul Raj R wins SUP Technical Men (Open)

Gokul Raj claimed the men’s 4KM technical title finishing ahead of his competitors with a timing of 17:53.30 mins. Kannan N (18:10.97 mins) and Sarath CS (18:34.17 mins) finished second and third respectively.

Rajeshwaran wins SUP Sprint Mixed Defence (Open) title

The SUP Sprint Mixed Defence (Open) category at Palkbay Challenge 2024 was won by Rajeshwaran R who finished the 200 M race with a timing of 2:11.61 defeating Sunil Kulhari (2:24.00) and Gopinath Panchavaranam (2:25.71) who stood second and third respectively.

Gokul Raj R wins SUP Sprint Men (Open) by a narrow margin

Gokul Raj also completed his doubles in the championship as he won the 200 M men’s sprint open category in a close fought battle with a timing of 2:00.66. Following him closely was Datchna Moorthy who claimed the second spot with a timing of 2:01.69. While Kannan N secured the third place with a timing of 2:06.23.

SUP Sprint Mixed Groms

Hailing from Pirappanvalasai village, local lad Muthukumar has been training hard under the guidance of Jehan Driver, an International Surfing Association SUP coach, continued his impressive run securing the mixed groms’ sprint title with a timings of 1:36.45. Karnataka’s Praveen Pujar who stood third in the technical category yesterday, walked away with the runners up title with a timing of 1:49.87. Bala Rajeshwaran finished the race in third position with a timing of 2:12.83.

The two day national championship saw over record 120 stand-up paddlers from across the country participated in the Palkbay SUP Challenge 2024 which was organised under the aegis of Surfing Federation of India – the governing body for the sport of surfing & Stand-Up Paddling in India.

The championship was supported by the Tamil Nadu Surfing Association, affiliated with the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), while QTT Adventure Sports Academy (Quest Academy) was the organizing authority of the championship.

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