Antonio Morillo and Esperanza Barreras emerge champions at India Paddle Festival
The Hindu
India Paddle Festival 2025 crowns champions, emphasizes ocean sports support, and celebrates winners in international SUP championship.
The International Stand-Up Paddling (SUP) Championship, India Paddle Festival 2025 concluded at Sasihithlu Beach near here with Denmark’s Christian Andersen and Spain’s Esperanza Barreras clinching victory in the APP Pro Sprint Finals.
Spain’s Antonio Morillo and Esperanza Barreras were crowned the overall champions in men’s and women’s category on the final day. Among juniors, Aakash Pujar emerged as the U-18 Overall Champion, while Sekar Patchai finished fourth in the overall rankings.
Speaking after presenting trophies to the winners, cinema actor Suniel Shetty emphasised the importance of supporting ocean sports in India. He said, “Thank you very much for believing in us and believing that this little place, though small, is a beautiful and deeply pious place—one of the most sacred places in the world. Swamiji [Jack Hebner popularly known as Surfing Swamy] believed that this was not just a place, but a spiritual and magical land. That’s why he chose to settle here, dedicating himself to training the boys and transforming this space into something truly extraordinary.“
In the APP Pro Sprints Men’s Final, Christian Andersen secured first place defeating Spain’s Antonio Morillo while Hungary’s Daniel Hasulyo emerged the third. Sekar Patchai took top honours in the consolation finals in the morning followed by Manikandan M. and Selvarasan Nagamuthu.
Esperanza Barreras emerged victorious in the APP Pro Sprints Women’s final while Korea’s Sujeong Lim and South Africa’s Chiara Vorster finished second and third.
In the APP Sprints Grooms (U-15) Praveen Pujar claimed the top spot, with Aneesh Kumar securing second place and Muhammadh Irfan finishing third. In the U-18 Boys category, Thailand’s Martin J. Patumsuwon won gold, while India’s Aakash Pujar and Raju Pujar finished second and third.
After three days of races, Spain’s Antonio Morillo emerged the Overall Men’s Champion securing 18,000 points. In the women’s category, Esperanza Barreras won both the APP Distance Race and Sprint Race, securing 20,000 points.
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