The Maldives’ Junior Boys’ Surfing Team kicked off their heats at the 4th Asian Surfing Championship this morning, with promising performances from all three surfers in round one.

First in the water was Kayan Zaki, who surfed the opening heat of the day. The returning semifinalist from last year, scored 5.33 and 5.77 on his two best waves this morning, finishing with a total of 11.10 points. Kayan’s overall score was just one point behind China’s Sholou Jiang. Despite the narrow miss, Kayan remains in the running and will compete in round two.

In heat four, Kayan Areef (Kaiputty) managed a combined 4.17 points from his first and third waves. He finished third in the heat and will also have to surf again in round two.

Speaking to Sidibari after his heat, Kayan admitted he was disappointed with his performance , saying that the wave flexions during his session were far from ideal.

The best performance of the day came from Yasin Ahmed Nashid, the youngest member of the team. Yasin scored a total of 11.73 points, riding a 5.83 and a 5.90 on his first and fourth waves respectively.

That score was enough to secure second place in his heat, just 0.71 points behind Chinese Taipei’s Jonh Jonh Chan. Yasin’s performance earned him a direct ticket to round three.

The Asian Surfing Championship – hosted in Mahabalipuram’s surf break in Tamil Nadu, India – is set to continue on Thursday morning.

The second-round heats for all three divisions are scheduled for day four, given the weather and wave conditions are good.