15 November 2013 – Jinzun Harbor, Taitung: Two-time Asian Surfing Champion Raditya Rondi from Bali, Indonesia clinched his third consecutive Open Championship Title today at the historic 1-star ASP/6-star ASC Taiwan Open of Surfing, when fellow Indonesian Dede Suryana of West Java knocked out Nusa Lembongan’s Putra Hermawan in Quarterfinal Four, who was the sole remaining threat to Rondi’s championship title.
Earlier this morning in Round 3, Rondi failed to rack up enough points for a second place finish, which would have put him into the quarterfinals and sealed his championship bid, thus leaving the door open for Hermawan. Hermawan would have to win the event however, to gain enough points to surpass Rondi, but a hard charging Dede Suryana put on end to that dream by posting the day’s highest single wave score of 8.86 and combined heat score of 16.86 (for two best waves) in the last heat of today’s competition and hand the championship to Rondi.
On the beach after being presented with his championship trophy by ASC President Tipi Jabrik, Rondi said, “I’ve very stoked! I was so nervous watching because I saw how good Putra surfed in his last heat, and that wave is really good for him. But Dede found the best waves and got those big points, so lucky for me. Winning my third championship is great, but I’m already looking forward to next year when I’m completely healthy so I can be more prepared, do all the events, and get my fourth championship.”
Hermawan was disappointed but smiling when asked about the heat and his result, saying, “I feel good and did my best, but I just didn’t get the good waves in that heat like I did in my earlier heat. Raditya is my good friend so I’m happy for him, that he’s the champion again.”
Earlier in his Round 3 heat, Hermawan had come charging from behind to win the heat by completing two air reverses on a single waves and posting a whopping 8.5 points to add to his existing 5.83 for a respectable 14.33 total, and seemed to be the in-form surfer to beat.
But he was stopped cold by fellow countryman Dede Suryana, the 2008 Indonesia Open Champion, who had had several years of WQS experience from 2008-2011. Suryana went right to work early in the man-on-man quarterfinal matchup, ultimately putting Hermawan in a combination situation by aggressively surfing the middle and end sections of the Jinzun Harbor righthander.
“I’m really happy to make it to the semifinals,” said Suryana. “It’s the first time I’ve made it into the semifinals in a WQS, even it’s a 1-star it’s still a great result.” When asked what his strategy was against Hermawan, he replied, “I just knew I had to choose the right waves and not worry about him, but when I saw him miss a couple it helped me a lot. I ended up with a two really good waves and got the best score of today, so I’m really stoked about that. I’m excited about tomorrow’s semifinal and hope I can win this event!”
In other action at the Taiwan Open of Surfing today, the ASC Longboard Division, the Noserider Invitational and the Juniors all competed as well.
Round 2 and the Quarterfinals of the ASC Longboard Division were completed, with current points leader and 2012 ASC Longboard Champion Arif “Mencos” Nurhidayat (INA) into the Semifinals, assuring his 2013 ASC Championship, and a highlight was certainly current ASP Longboard Champion Taylor Jenson (USA) and wife Nava Young getting 1st and 2nd place in Quarterfinal 1 to both advance into the Semifinals.
In the Noserider Invitational it was Harley Ingleby of Australia who posted the highest score of 9.0 points out of a possible 10 for an impressive ride in Heat/Quarterfinal 3, and close behind him with 8.83 points was Taylor Jenson from the USA in Semifinal 1.
In the Junior Division, highest heat score honors in the first heat goes to Rory McDonald of Taiwan with a 12.50 points for his two-wave total (out of a possible 20 points) and in the second heat to Wolf Wertheimer of Hong Kong, 12.16. They will meet up tomorrow in the four man final with Joe Keoh of Hong Kong and Han Zong-Xuan of Taiwan to decide who will take home the division trophy.
Tomorrow will see the conclusion of the 2013 Taiwan Open of Surfing, a historic event as the first –ever ASP/ASC sanctioned surfing competition in Asia.
Competition will start at 7:15 am with semifinal one of the Men’s Open, and see winners crowned in all divisions by the end of the day.
Here are the matchups:
Men’s Open: Semifinal 1: Arishi Kato (JPN) vs Jun Shilba (JPN), Semifinal 2: Yujiro Tsuji (JPN) vs Dede Suryana (INA)
Women’s Open: Semifinal 1: Tarnea Omeara (AUS), Rina Kitazawa (JPN), Yasnyiar Gea (INA), Wei Yen-Yi (TPE), Semifinal 2: Rosie Locke (AUS), Georgia Young (AUS), Diah Rahayu (INA), Chelsea Williams (AUS)
Longboard: Semifinal 1: Taylor Jensen (USA), Arip Nurhidayat (INA), Nic Jones (AUS), Jake Entwistle (AUS), Semifinal 2: Nava Young (USA), Chelsea Williams (AUS), Harley Ingleby (AUS), Tony Silvagni (USA)
Noserider Invitational: Taylor Jensen (USA), Harley Ingleby (AUS), Tony Silvagni (USA), Jack Entwistle (AUS)
Juniors: Rory MacDonald (TPE), Wolf Wertheimer (HK), Joe Keoh (HK), Han Zong-Xuan (TPE).
Follow the Taiwan Open of Surfing live tomorrow at http://www.asiansurfingtour.com/events/taiwan, and http://taiwanopenofsurfing.com/
The 2013 Taiwan Open of Surfing is supported by ASP Australasia, ASC, Stream Trail, TOOLS & HULA HAWAII, Hurley, Dragon, BABI, Toblerone, Holiwa, BenQ, Carrefour, O’Neill & JingCai Good MG.
ASC Media Partners: Surfersvillage.com, MyLifeonBoard.net, Balibelly.tv, Baliwaves.com, Lines Magazine, Surftime Magazine, Magic Wave Surf Community Newspaper, Royal Video Magazine, Alam TV Bali, and the Outdoor Channel.
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