25 May 2025, Mangalore, India: Although gale force winds, pouring rain, and washing machine-like wave conditions tried their best, the will and commitment of the event organizers and India’s best junior surfers were not to be defeated yesterday, as the inaugural Tipi Jabrik’s Grom Patrol presented by Arun Vasu was completed at Tanneribhavi Beach in Mangalore.
The event, hosted by the Mangalore Surf Club as the first-ever Grom Patrol event India, saw just under 30 male and female groms (junior surfers age 18 and under) from India arriving at the beach at 6 am, ready to take on the challenging wave conditions and chase the top spot on the podium.
Mangalore’s 15 year old Saanvi Hegde earned wins in both the Under 18 and Under 16 Girls Divisions, one of several competitors that chose to compete in more than one age division. After receiving her prizes at the awards presentation, Hegde said, “Yes the conditions were very harsh today, and I went down so many times and got swept around by the current. But I gave my all, tried all the possible ways to get a few waves and I got the win…I’m so happy right now.” When asked about her surfing experience she explained, “I have been surfing since I was 7, when my dad started taking me to the beach. I asked him if I could try it, and even though I was scared of the water and couldn’t even swim, he let me try. So that’s how I learned to surf and then eventually to swim. Doing this competition has given me a new experience in hard conditions, so I’m even more confident out in the water now. My next goal is to go the Grom Patrol event in Covelong, and win that one also!”
The Boys Under 18 winner is a familiar name in India’s growing surf community as the highest ranked up and coming male surfer. 17 year old Kishore Kumar has already traveled internationally and competed in WSL events and has been surfing for 6 years now, so it’s not a surprise that could find a way to win in even the most challenging of conditions. “It was very hard to find a good wave out there as the conditions were very tricky,” he admitted, “I managed to find a couple, and even got a big score of 8.17 from the judges for one big turn.” When asked about his future goals, he replied, “My main goal is to participate in Olympics and represent India. But my nearer goal is to become the overall Grom Patrol champion this year!”
Other competitors of mention are Harish P and Pradeep Pujar, who competed in both the Under 14 and Under 16 Boys Division, with Pradeep Pujar taking the Under 14 win with Harish in 2nd place, and Harish P taking the Under 16 win with Pradeep Pujar taking 2nd place. Look for these two at the next Grom Patrol event coming up on July on the East Coast at Covelong as they are sure to be standout again.
Due to the strong winds and rain the night before, the tents and other event infrastructure that had been prepared were destroyed; replaced in the morning by several SUV’s lined up on the beach that the judging panel could work from. Several time the start of the first heat was delayed, and then at one point the wind and rain so strong that Contest Director Nawaz Jabbar actually called it off for the day. However, minutes later the wind dropped, the rain stopped, and the sun came out…so the decision was reversed and the competition commenced.
“It’s probably the toughest contest I’ve ever had to direct,” said Jabbar. “Right from get-go we had a difficult decision to make, as to whether or not the weather would hold off long enough to allow the competition to be completed, and adding to that the forecast was looking worse each day. So it was very possibly the only day we could hold it… So having to consider all these aspects, as well as the safety of the kids and contest crew while taking a decision, this is probably the most challenging one yet for me, but also the most enjoyable and at the end the most rewarding.”
With the use of the SUV’s on the beach, the judges were able to use their tablets and laptops to connect with the Live Heats scoring and rankings program, and though the strong onshore winds made communicating with the competitors virtually impossible, the scores were all properly accounted for and can be found online at https://www.liveheats.com/events/371132
As the host of the inaugural Tipi Jabrik’s Grom Patrol India presented by Arun Vasu, Mangalore Surf Club’s Chirag Shambu was also delighted with the outcome of the event, despite the challenging conditions. “I would like to thank the ASC and Mr. Arun Vasu for giving us your trust and letting us do this prestigious event,” said Shambu. “It was a very challenging event for us today, as we’ve never done an event during this monsoon time, but we know now what a real challenge is, and we are now ready to do any kind of event in the future! I loved seeing the kids out there surfing today, their spirits were high and it was a great thing for us to witness. Being a surf school we always love to do events and get more people involved in our surf community. Thanks for all who helped out to make this happen.”
Grom Patrol India (Mangalore) presented by Arun Vasu was sponsored by the TT Group, TT Adventures, Surf Turf, and the Mangalore Surf Club, sanctioned by the Asian Surf Cooperative, with scoring and ranking provided by Liveheats.
Stay tuned as the Grom Patrol heads to Thailand this next weekend for the Grom Patrol Khao Lak from 30–31 May.
The 2025 Grom Patrol season will culminate in a Grand Final at Kuta Beach, Bali, from 22–24 August, where the top performers from all international stops will join Indonesia’s best groms for an exciting season finale. Event winners and overall 2025 champions in each division will be crowned.
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