Glenn Hall downs Dion Atkinson in first Semi-final of Hainan Classic
Ireland’s Glenn Hall came up with a remarkable performance to take down Australia’s Dion Atkinson in the first Semi-final of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star Hainan Classic at the Riyue Bay in Wanning, China, on Saturday, January 14,
to make his way through into the Final.
The fourth day of the competition saw a slight decline in the size of surf, which had been lying somewhere within the four-to-six foot range on Friday. However, the conditions at Riyue Bay were still pretty decent and promised the final day of Hainan Classic
to feature a series of thrilling battles between the in-form surfers.
The day kicked off with the first Semi-final, featuring a showdown between Hall and Atkinson. Both the surfers had put on standout performances quite consistently over the last few days to confidently progress through the event.
Atkinson in particular had been a real treat to watch as he redeemed himself through a series of outstanding performances to still remain alive in the competition while his fellow countrymen had already been eliminated, whereas he was the first Australian
to get eliminated from the International Surfing Association (ISA) China Cup earlier this month.
Making a solid impact in their previous heats, Hall and Atkinson faced each other in the first Semi-final.
In the opening minutes of the heat, Atkinson got off to a solid start, locking his first business-wave early in the battle to post an 8.33 on the score-board. Hall soon responded with a 6.90-point wave, still trailing behind his rival.
Almost halfway through the heat, the Australian surfer extended his lead even further by adding an additional 6.20 points to his account, taking his heat-total to 14.53 points.
However, his lead turned out to be a volatile one as Hall caught his second business-wave to pull off a couple of big floaters and two quick turns, scoring an 8.17 for the effort. The score took him to a heat-total of 15.07 points, 0.54-points ahead of his
Australian rival. This served to seal the fate of the first Semi-final in the Irish surfer’s favour, carrying him off into the final stage of the competition.
The performance by Atkinson during the Semi-final was nothing short of impressive, but Hall proved to be in an even deadlier form, thus leaving the Australian pretty much helpless.
The inaugural ASP 4-Star Hainan Classic is the second event of the Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival Presented by Quiksilver.
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