<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cherating (Pahang) surfers <strong>Haikal bin Muhamad</strong> and <strong>Qadeja Musaddiq </strong>made headlines today at Tanjung Balau Beach by winning both Shortboard and Longboard Divisions of the 2nd annual KEJORA Surfing Cup 24, at the end of a 3-day surfing competition where a field of some 80 surfers from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Portugal, Philippines and Indonesia came together to compete and enjoy the warm water and good vibes on the white sand beaches of Southern Malaysia. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the last 25 minute final of the day, in the highly competitive Men’s Shortboard Division, it was 20 year old <strong>Haikal bin Muhamad </strong>from Cherating (Pahang) who came back on to the beach to claim his second final win of the day. “I’m so happy to win both divisions today,”, said Haikal. “After winning the longboard division, I had a short rest to prepare for the shortboard division, so my mindset was that I already had a win so I would not put too much pressure on myself for the shortboard final. Although it was defiantly tricky out there, but I guess it was my lucky day as the waves came to me and I got some good scores. My Cherating team was on the beach and I could hear them cheering for me, saying ‘go go, you can win this’, so I think everything was just going my way today.” Haikal said he plans to use his prize money to go to Bali (Indonesia) and train to become a professional surfer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Following his lead was 23 year old <strong>Qadeja Musaddiq</strong>, also from Cherating, who started surfing when she was just 9 years old. “I’m so excited to win, but also exhausted after competing in both divisions and somehow winning both of them,” said Qadeja. “The wave conditions were a bit crazy, especially for longboarding, so I feel there was a bit of luck, but anyways, so happy to win today. This is for my family, I hope they are proud of me, as I am proud of myself.” When asked what she will do with her prize money, she replied laughing, “Dinner-dinner…big dinner for everyone!”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the Grommet (Under 16 years old ) Division, it was <strong>Lucas Welhe</strong>, a 15 year old mixed Malaysian/German who lives in Portugal coming back to the beach with the win.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The waves were hard to read out there, so my mentality was just to try and find the best waves, and surf my best,” said Lucas. “I went for a free surf in the break before the finals, so when I went into the final I found the waves were the same, so I had an idea of more or less where the good ones would be. It wasn’t easy, but I got the job done.” When asked about his future plans, he replied, I’ll be spending Christmas in Kuala Lumpur with my mom’s family, then looking forward to competing in Tioman in January. I’m stoked to be in Malaysia, and really enjoying surfing and competing and hanging out with everyone here.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To see all the results, heats and score, please check <a href="https://liveheats.com/events/317148" target="_blank">https://liveheats.com/events/317148</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The KEJORA Surfing Cup 24 is a significant event on the yearly Malaysian surf circuit, and as a second annual event has contributed to the growth of surfing in Malaysia.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“This has been a very successful event for KEJORA, for PLOM, and for my hometown of Cherating,” said Mr. Kamarulzaman Muhammad, President of Persatuan Luncur Ombak Malaysia (PLOM). “This is one of five surfing events in Malaysia this year, so we’re very thankful for all the support from KEJORA and that we’re progressing surfing more and more all around the nation. And today, of course I’m also very proud that 4 of the 6 divisions of competition were won by competitors from Cherating. We need to keep encouraging the younger generation to get involved with surfing and also to push the development of surfing all over Malaysia.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first competition of the season was the Kemasin Surf Comp Vol. 1, held on 14-15 December at Pantai Impian, Bachok, Kalantan, and the next surfing competition will be taking place on Tioman Island in January of 2025.</div>