KTA Sri Lanka
2018 Sri Lanka Freestyle X National Championships
With an
opening day registration of over 60 riders from 13 countries, the KTA Sri Lanka
was shaping up to be the event everyone was hoping for.
The event
set to take place on the stunning flat water freestyle heaven at Kalpitiya, was
already seeing the wind being to fill in, even before the last rider had
checked in.
Sponsored
by the Sri Lanka Tourism Ministry and supported by the kite schools from the
Kalpitiya Windsports Club, the first day of the KTA Sri Lanka was designated
for the Sri Lanka Freestyle X National Championships. It was the event start
that is sure to set the scene for the rest of the week, as the local riders
showed the international riders how to throw-down on their home turf.
Freestyle
X, the freeride competition format developed by the KTA, allows riders to mix
together their old and new school moves to show off the best of what it means
to be a freestyle rider. It is a format that perfectly suits the strong Sri
Lankan conditions, allowing riders to boost their old school moves and power
the new.
The wind
throughout the day pushed up to between 20 -25kts, meaning that even though
riding conditions were not at all times stable, it certainly set the challenge
and showed the judges who had the best all round ability.
With an
awesome mix of deadmen, handle passes, kiteloops, F16’s and board offs of every
variety, the early heats of the Sri Lanka Freestyle X National Championships
began to unfold. Local friends and rivals alike pushed each other to perform at
their best and although of course not every rider would make it through to the
later stages, they showed the impressive level Sri Lankan kiters have now
reached.
In the
final stages though, the showdowns would be played out between Samara Priyanka
and Gihan Anurudda Mihdukulasuriya in
the first semi, with Amjath Nasar and Anishka Dinel in the second.
For
Priyanka and Mihdukulasuriya the wind was perhaps at its flukiest of the day,
with lulls popping up throughout the heat making it difficult for the riders to
time their moves and gain a lot of height in their old school moves. In the end
though Priyanka’s better constancy would take him through to the finals.
For the
second semi the wind was back to full power and both riders were able to show
their best. Nasar was able to initially catch the eye of the judge with a
smooth range of well boosted old school moves that seem to put him in front of
his opponent. Dinel however fought back and in the end it would be his overall
constancy that would carry him through
The
runners-up final began in the same vein as the semi’s, but unfortunately at the
halfway point Nasar’s slammed in a hard landing and his board snapped in two.
Although after this Nasar was taken a replacement board by the rescue team,
this is under the rules seen as outside assistance and gave the win to
Mihdukulasuriya.
In the
finals, Dinel open his account with powerful deadman front roll, only to be
countered by a big board off switch, F16 and back-roll handlepass from
Priyanka. Dinel held his nerve though finishing with some powerful wake style
tricks, while Priyanka pushed perhaps a little too hard and failed to land his
final rush of moves, giving in the end the Sri Lanka Freestyle X National
Championships to Dinel.
Today has a
seen a classic start to a freestyle event, high standards and hard fought
competition that with the wind forecast to remain at this level throughout the
week, we can look forward to a lot more top level kiting as the international
riders get set to join the proceedings.
Sri Lanka National Championship Results
1 Anishka Dinel
2 Samara Priyanka
3 Amjath Nasar
4 Gihan Anurudda Mihdukulasuriya
2018 Asian Freestyle X Championships
KTA Sri
Lanka and the pumping winds have brought us to the much anticipated Asian
Freestyle X Championships, the main event of the week here in Sri Lanka.
The riders
are now all very tuned into the conditions at the Kalpitiya lagoon and ready
for the day’s competition. The wind as it has been all week was averaging
around the 20kt mark with just a few gusts and lulls throw in to unsettle the
competitors. Unfortunately though in these conditions have taken their toll on
a few of the riders and several of the first heats out on the water today were
in effect by’s as injured riders were unable to compete. In this situation the
rules still require their opponent to take to the water and complete one
scoring jump, to justify the win.
But then
with the admin rounds dealt with, the competition took off for real, with two
rounds of heats that saw riders giving their all once again in the cut and
trust of Freestyle X. Strong performances
from Sri Lanka’s Mohamed Althaf, Ajmal Nasar and Anishka Dinel, along once
again saw these local riders progressing well through the early rounds. Their
run though was brought to an end by Vietnam’s Phu Phoang Lai, the Philippines
Mark Magliqiuan and Thailand’s Yo Narapitchit Pudla and Prawit Buachatturat.
The latter
group of riders were now through to the semi-final rounds, each with their
sights set on the championship title. It was though the turn of the women to
take to the water and settle who would be their 2018 champion.
The women’s
combined final would feature Japan’s Aya Oshima, Turkey’s Elif Taluy and Thai
riders Fon Benyapa Jantawan, and Tatsanee Phisin. The outcome however was not
to be a repeat of the International Open earlier in the week, as Taluy and
Jantawan were edged out by Phisin and Oshima.
Phisin in
particular had a blinding final, landing powerful new school moves and high
well timed old school tricks that showed her confidence had grown over the
week’s competition. However, the experience and skill of Oshima proved
unstoppable, with her range of new school moves in particular leaving her
rivals in her wake. In the end there could only be one winner and for the 2018
Asian Championships, it was once again Japan’s Aya Oshima.
Attention
then moved back to the men’s group, as our semi-finalists battled it out to
grab their place in the finals. The final though would turn out to be an all
Thai affair as Pudla and Buachatturat held off the challenges of their rivals.
The Pudla / Magliqiuan semi-final was though in particular staggeringly close,
with only a 0.5 difference in the score between the two.
Magliquian
would though pick up the bronze medal podium slot, after his runner-up finals
with Vietnam’s Phoang Lai, who’s early form of the week deserted him this time.
In particular Phoang Lai failed to land two attempts at his normally rock solid
slim chance and this seem to throw him of course a little. Magliquian though
was still on a roll from his near defeat of Pudla and really did not put a foot
wrong to take the win.
The men’s
2018 Asian Freestyle X final, would open with both riders matching each other
move for move as they rolled out big one-foot front rolls, boar spins and
313/s. At this point with things more or less evenly matched, Pudla’s power
began to tell and he started to pull away from Magliquian, ending of course
with a massive well anticipated X5 front loop.
And with
that, Yo Narapichit Pudla was once again Asian champion - although even as he
admitted it was a bit of a surprise that at 31 years old he was still top of
the pile.
Both the
men’s and women’s finals had lived up to the high level expectations for the
KTA Sri Lanka. Both reigning champions had retained their crowns, but it was
good to see the rising level of talent chasing them hard, ensuring many good
years of freestyle competition are to be anticipated in the coming years.
Asian
Freestyle X Championship Results
Men Women
1 Yo Narapitchit Pudla (THA) Aya
Oshima (JPN)
2 Prawit Buachatturat (THA) Tatsanee
Phisin (THA)
3 Mark Magliqiuan (PHL) Elif
Taluy (TUR)
4 Phu Phoang Lai (VNM) Fon
Benyapa Jantawan (THA)
ABOUT THE KTA
The KTA was
formed to give an international platform to the skills and talents of
kiteboarders throughout Asia, and to bring professional level competition and
training to the region. The KTA launched the first kiteboard event of its kind
in Asia in September 2009 and since then delivered over 50 international events
across Asia and Australasia ranging from National, to International and Asian
Championships, including World and Youth Olympic Qualifiers.
The KTA is
open to everyone from anywhere, amateur and pro riders alike. It is the one and
only officially Asian continental tour sanctioned by the International
Kiteboarding Association (IKA), the kitesurfing world governing body, which in
turn is the class representative to the International Sailing Federation (ISAF)
sanctioning international sailing competitions from world championship to
Olympic levels.
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