Mangalore (Karnataka),  Surfers from across the country will vie for the top honours in the third edition of the Indian Open Surfing to be held at the Panambur Beach here from May 27-29, 2022.

The Surfing Federation of India (SFI) on Thursday announced that the premier surfing competition of India, which is recognised by the International Surfing Association, will be hosted by the Mantra Surf Club, Mangalore.

The three-day surfing competition will see participation from all the top surfers of India as per their rankings and will be a part of the Karnataka Surfing Festival, which is being organised by Karnataka Tourism. Competitions will be held in three categories -- men, women, and groms (U-16).

"We are excited to be associating with SFI for Indian Open Surfing as promoting the lesser-explored coasts in the state are of prime importance from the point of view of a thriving tourism economy. In such beautiful and serene parts of the state, a sport like Surfing can really help to attract tourists from all over the country and also from abroad," said Dr Rajendra KV, IAS, Deputy Commissioner and Chairman District Tourism Development Committee, Mangalore, Dakshina Kannada

With the Paris Olympics in sight, Arun Vasu, president, Surfing Federation of India recently met with Sports minister Anurag Thakur in New Delhi. The minister has also assured the federation of all support in recognising the Surfing Federation of India as a National Sports Federation (NSF).

"Our objective is to make surfing massive in India. India has a large coastline and some rare and wonderful beaches conducive to the sport of Surfing. Because of this, it is absolutely possible to make Surfing the most followed water sport in the country. Events such as the Indian Open will be a huge boost towards achieving this objective as well as cater to the needs of promoting adventure tourism into the state and the country," Arun Vasu said.

Ram Mohan Paranjpe, vice-president of SFI and host Mantra, said, "We are elated to be back after a long gap with the third edition of IOS and are looking forward to seeing some action on the west coast of India during pre-monsoon swell"

Mangalore has been the hub for surfers in India on the west coast and has hosted the Indian open Surfing since its inception in 2016. The Surfing Federation of India post the pandemic has worked towards promoting the sport and bringing in many small-scale tournaments to life to keep the athletes' competition ready.