Local boy Sachin and Protea Nikita rule ‘Hikka’ waves
Local boy Sachin Tharaka and Nikita Robb of South Africa emerged winners of Red Bull Ride My Wave surfing competition, which was held at the Hikkaduwa Main Surf Point, last weekend. Sachin Tharaka became the star among 69 participants to claim the win of the Men’s segment while fellow compatriots Praneeth Sandaruwan and Suranga Pradeep finished second and third respectively.South Africa’s Nikita Robb was the cynosure among 12 females who were in contention as Petra Forsmark of Sweden finished second ahead of USA’s Zoe Reames.
This year Red Bull Ride My Wave hosted 18 heats with 69 male participants. The Men’s qualifying Round 2 had nine heats with 34 participants while Round 3 comprised six heats with 18 participants. Round 4 had 12 participants as the semi-finals had two heats with eight participants. Sachin Tharaka, Suranga Pradeep, Tom Leray and Praneeth Sandaruwan reached the final round.
In the Women’s category over 12 participants were in contention including a local surfer. This year the Queen of the Wave 2021 title was taken by Nikita Robb who has earlier won two times consecutively.
Overall 77 participants registered for the event and the main highlight was that 26 participants were from 13 different countries such as Australia, Cheque Republic, Estonia, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Latvia, French Polynesia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, United States of America and South Africa.
Red Bull Ride My Wave is the pinnacle of Open Surfing Competitions in
Sri Lanka with top seeded athletes taking part for the title of King or Queen of the Wave. The event running for the fifth consecutive year at the Hikkaduwa Main Surf Point, is now poised to take on the larger task of bringing together surfers from around the island and the world, to surf in the beautiful island of Sri Lanka.
The tournament also now sets its sights on becoming the springboard for young and talented surfers to be discovered and trained to take on the international stage. This professional competition is managed and judged by the Association of Surfing Professionals in Sri Lanka.
Red Bull has been actively involved in surfing events for several years, hosting competitions on every continent around the world.
Men's winners
Women's winner