Heath Joske and Blake Thornton advance into Round 2 of Hainan Classic
Australia’s Heath Joske secured top honours in the 15th heat, whereas his compatriot Blake Thornton clinched the win in the 16th heat of Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star Hainan Classic’s Round 1 (Round of 64) that continued at Wanning in Hainan Island, China, on Thursday, January 12.
The 15th heat saw Joske take the win by getting the best of Japan’s Kenta Hayashi, Guadeloupe’s Charles Martin and Indonesia’s Dede Suryana. Hayashi successfully extended his life in the event as well by securing runner-up place to advance through into Round 2 (Round of 64) as well, while Martin and Suryana were forced to make a premature exit after rounding out the third and fourth position respectively.
Thornton confirmed his place in the second round by defeating America’s Keetin Devine, Japan’s Nobuyuki Osawa and China’s Zhuang Tie in the 16th heat. Devine made the Round 2 cut as well after taking finishing in second place. Osawa and Tie, on the other hand, finishing in third and fourth place respectively to consequently getting removed from the contention for the event title.
Pitted against Hayashi, Martin and Suryana in the 15th heat, Joske got down to business right away, locking a wave in the opening minutes of the heat to post a 5.17 on the score-board. Half-way through the heat, he collected an impressive 8.17-point wave to get to a heat-total of 13.34 points. The score kept him in the lead until the end to eventually earn him top honours and send him through into the next round.
Japan-based Hayashi successfully confirmed his place in the second round as well after earning a couple of sixes to finish with a heat-total of 12.74 point, which served to put him in runner-up place.
Martin put on a decent performance as well, but failed to survive the heat after finishing with a heat-total of 12.47 points, thus taking third place. Suryana finished in fourth place with a heat-total of 12.36 points.
The 16th heat turned out to be a one-man show with Thornton pretty much stealing the entire spotlight through his phenomenal performance. He pulled off a combination of lightening quick turns off his first business-wave in the opening minutes of the heat to post an 8.50 on the score-board, before adding another 7.00 points to his account, consequently finishing with a decisive heat-total of 15.50 points to walk away with the win.
Devine made his place in the next round as well after securing runner-up place with a heat-total of 9.53 points, which comprised of a 4.30 and 5.23-point wave.
Osawa finished in third place with a heat-total of 8.50 points, while Tie put on an extremely disappointing performance to eventually finish in fourth place with a heat-total of 2.90 points.
The ASP 4-Star Hainan Classic is the second event of Hainan Wanning Riyue Bay International Surfing Festival Presented by Quiksilver.
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