Thulusdhoo, Aug 24 (IANS): India's Kishore Kumar came up with a superb performance as he helped the country secure a first-ever quota place in the upcoming Asian Games 2026 to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. Kishore excelled in the U-18 category, after finishing third in the Heat-2 of the semifinal in the Asian Surfing Championships 2024.

His performance helped the men's team grab a quota while the women's team too qualified for the mega event to be held in Japan in 2026.

These quotas have been earned based on the ranking points accumulated by the Indian surfers in the championship. Kishore Kumar, who advanced into the championships’ semifinal on Friday, missed out narrowly in a stiff competition but his spectacular performance throughout the tournament ensured that India earned quotas for the Asian Games.

The Asian Surfing Championships 2024, which is a qualifier for the Asian Games 2026, saw eight Indian surfers compete in four different categories.

With multiple national championship titles to his name, the determined Kishore Kumar entered the competition on Saturday against some of Asia’s best surfers in the U-18 Boys category. He finished third in Semifinal Heat 2 with a score of 8.26, just behind Chengzheng Wang of China, who scored 10.00, to place second.

Japanese surfer Taro Takai took first place in the same heat with a score of 14.50. Kishore Kumar, who had previously finished first in Round 1, Round 3, and the quarterfinals, was exceptional throughout the championships.

Harish Muthu, another successful surfer after Kishore in the tournament had also left his marks as he became the first Indian to qualify for the Asian Surfing Championships quarterfinals. However, he fell short in a hard-fought battle.

Surfing is one of the 41 sports in which competitions will be held in the 2026 Asian Games.