Kaito Ohashi emerges triumphant in Round 1 at Murasaki Quiksilver Jeju Open of Surfing
Japan’s Kaito Ohashi made his way into the second round (Round of 16) at the inaugural Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Murasaki Quiksilver Jeju Open of Surfing after claiming top honours in the seventh heat of Round 1 (Round of 32) that went down
at Jungmun Beach in Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, on Saturday, June 16.
Taishi Kawabata from Japan finished in second place to accompany the winner of the heat into the next round of the competition. Brazil’s Marcelo Teixeira and Korea’s Younho Kim were forced to exit the field after rounding out the bottom-two finish.
ASP has been turning its focus to Asia in the recent months, with the intention of the surfing governing body becoming apparent in the very first week of 2012 when it set its footsteps in China. Continuing with its ambition to promote the sport in the region
and capitalise on the already existing interest, the ASP 2-Star event made its debut in the Republic of Korea, attracting a large field of local and international up-and-coming surfers to compete for the $US5, 000 and up to 500 ASP ranking points that were
on offer.
The second day of the competition kicked-off in two-foot waves, with a bright sunny weather adding to the ideal situation that existed at Jungmun Beach for a day of exciting surfing action.
The seventh heat of Round 1 pitted Ohashi against Kawabata, Teixeira and Kim in a four-man battle for the Round 2 spot.
As the battle got underway, Ohashi wasted very little time in stamping his authority over his rivals with a 6.25-point ride in the opening minutes of the heat. He continued the momentum to add an additional 3.75 points to his account, thus moving to a heat-total
of 10.00 points. The score held up until the end to see him through into the next round.
Kawabata followed Ohashi into the next round after securing runner-up place through a heat-total of 7.30 points, which comprised of a couple of scores in the three-point range.
Teixeira finished in third place with a heat-total of 5.05 points, whereas Kim rounded out the bottom-position after collecting a 2.00 and 1.85 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 3.85 points. Both the surfers were consequently forced to leave the
competition field.
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