Tamil Nadu’s Kishore Kumar became the first Indian to reach the semifinals of the Asian Surfing Championships in the U-18 category. Among the eight Indian participants, Kishore is the only one still in the competition, which serves as a qualifying event for the 2026 Asian Games.
In the third heat of the quarterfinals, Kishore earned the top score of 11.50. John Chan from Chinese Taipei placed second with a score of 8.76, while local surfer Sayyid Salahuddin came in third with 7.90.
Kishore claimed first place with a score of 12.86 in Round 1, advancing directly to Round 3, where he scored 14.33. He continued his strong performance in the quarterfinals with a score of 11.50.
Kishore’s score in Round 3 is the highest ever achieved by an Indian surfer in this competition.