Ali Thameem
The Bodyboard Open final at Elayi’s, Fuvahmulah, finished yesterday with a gap of 0.10 points between prodigy Ahmed Jivaau Jihaadh and veteran Ali Javid.
The category, which was introduced into DSL last year, had seen Jaatte take the crown at Kerandoo.
At Elayi’s, Jivaau finished on 10.17, narrowly outperforming Jaatte, who scored 10.07.
The results came down to Jivaau’s third and sixth waves, scoring 6.00 and 7.17, respectively. Those were the only two scores in the heat that moved beyond mid-range execution. Every other wave in his heat sat well below that threshold, including a series of low-value rides (1.33, 1.43, 1.47).
An interference call altered the final heat. Jivaau’s first counting wave was reduced through a penalty adjustment. Jaatte’s two best waves (5.57 and 4.50) did not match Jivaau’s top-end score. But Jaatte had been more consistent towards the end of the heat.
Jivaau had eliminated bodyboarding league champion Amin Umar Moosa with 12.00 to 11.23 in the semifinals. Jaatte qualified to finals after scoring 12.50 against Shimaal Shameem’s 9.83.
Jivaau won his second gold medal at the U18 Boys division at Elayis, finishing on 9.40 points in the final. The U18 final followed a similar pattern to his Open win. His counting waves, 5.17 and 4.23, accounted for the result. Nooh Mohamed Dhunaim Irshad finished second on 8.44, with a more even spread of points. But Nooh, Libaan and Shaaif, all three of Jivaau’s opponents in the final failed to deliver a comparable peak to him.
Eleyi’s is the first of the three events of this year’s Dhivehi Surf League. The Fuvahmulah council had taken up the challenge to replace Mulikolhu Raalhugandu, held at the captial of Meemu last year.
