The Maldives Bodyboarding Association (MBBA) has announced the line up of athletes who will compete in the highly anticipated IBC World Tour “Visit Maldives Pro 2023” in August.
Scheduled to take place at Varunulaa Raalhugandu in Male’ City from 3 to 12 August, 14 athletes from Maldives will compete in the prestigious tournament. Among them are those who have earned their spots through free passes granted for hosting the event in Maldives, as well as those who received wild card entries.
The Maldives wild card spots are Ali Khushruwan Ahmed, also known as Kuda Ayya, in the men’s category and Aamin Umar Moosa in the junior category. These two athletes will go head-to-head with the top 32 seeded bodyboarders.
In addition, four athletes in each category have been granted free passes to compete. In the men’s category, the recipients of the free passes are Kuda Ayya, Aamin, Ashraf Hassan, and Ali Javed. Meanwhile, in the junior category, Aamin, Ian Ahmed, Mohamed Jareesh Jihad, and Mohamed Kaif selected to compete.
MBBA General Secretary Hassan Rasheed revealed that the allocation of free passes was determined based on the athletes’ performances in the last Burunu Shikaaru Challenge and their rankings on the national team.
Apart from these selected athletes, numerous other skilled bodyboarders from the Maldives have also registered for the tournament.
Over 100 bodyboarders from 20 countries are expected to participate in the Visit Maldives Pro 2023, which is considered the biggest bodyboarding event in Asia.