Indonesian surfers dive into Oakley World Juniors

Oney Anwar © Tim Hain - ISC/ASC Media

Team Updates

Indonesian Wildcards See Action on Day 1 of Oakley ASP World Junior Championships Bali

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 6 October, 2012 : - - After besting the field of 32 Indonesian pro juniors yesterday in the trials, wildcards Gazali Hamzah (Sumbawa) and Nyoman “Blacky” Satria (Bali) joined their fellow countryman and ASP wildcard Oney Anwar in Round One action today at the Oakley ASP World Junior Championships that started off this morning at Canggu.

After participating in the traditional Balinese ceremony that takes place on the opening day of every Oakley surfing contest in Bali, and a 45 minute break to let the tide start to fill in, Round 1 action got started for the 48 international pro junior surfers.

The first Indonesian surfer to be put to the test was Nyoman “Blacky” Satria, who was up against Hawaiian Keanu Asing and Micheal February from South Africa in Heat 8. February dominated the heat, posting excellent scores of 8.17 and 8.5 for a total of 16.67, while Asing finished in second spot with 12.84 points and Satria with 7.06 points.

“I was so nervous out there,” said Satria after the heat. “I really wanted to better than that, so I’m disappointed with my performance. I’m glad I still have another chance in Round 2, so I plan to focus on just surfing…..me and the wave.” In this contest’s format, the winner of the Round 1 heat advances to Round 3, whereas the second and third places finishers have to compete in Round 2, which is man-on-man. Satria is matched up with Keanu Asing in Heat 1 of Round 2.

The second Indonesian wildcard to see action was Gazali Hamzah in Heat 9, who immediately went to work and aggressively attacked the first wave of the heat to post a 4.83 and jump into the lead. But Hawaii’s Koa Smith on his backhand began smashing out scores of 8.20 and then an 8.40 to gain the lead and hold off both Hamzah and a charging Jack Freestone. Though Hamzah finished in 3rd spot, he put on a very respectable performance.

“I wish I could have done better,” said Hamzah. “I thought I did my best but I just didn’t get the scores I needed against those guys. I’m going to try even harder in the next round, because it’s my last chance. He will take on Number 2 ranked Jack Freestone in Round 2.

Hamzah’s younger brother Hairil “Oney” Anwar, who received an ASP wildcard into the event, has been going to school and competing on the Gold Coast of Australia for the past few years, was the final Indonesian to compete today. Anwar jumped into the lead with a 7.17 point wave, to which he added another 6.03 score, but then he let a couple waves go by and one of them turned into an 8.07 score for Puerto Rico’s Vasco Ribeiro, who ended up winning the heat.

“I was in position but those waves looked like they were going to either close out or go fat on me, so I didn’t take them. Then I heard that score of 8.07 and thought….damn! It was a bit tricky out there, and I really tried to get another big score but just couldn’t find the right wave. I was so close to that Round 3 spot, so it’s disappointing, but I’ll just have to do better in Round 2.

When asked what his advice would be to his fellow Indonesians wildcards going into Round 2 he replied, “I would tell them to be patient and choose the right waves, that’s the most important thing. And I would tell them not to be so nervous. I could see by their surfing that they weren’t relaxed enough, so that’s what they need to do if they want to get through Round 2.”

Other highlights of the day included Spanish surfer Vicente Romero posting the day’s highest single wave score in Heat 3, a nearly perfect 9.93 (out of a possible 10) for a massive aerial coupled with deep gouging turns.

Contest Director Beau Emerton has called for a 7 am standby tomorrow morning again at Canggu, with the intention of running the first round of the women’s division. To watch the Oakley ASP World Pro Junior live: oakleyprojunior.com/live-webcast

The Oakley ASP World Pro Junior Championships Bali is sponsored by surfermag.com, the Komune Resort and Beach Club Bali, the Pullman Bali Legian Nirwana, New Era, BIMC Hospital, the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championships, and the Odysseys Surf School with media support by indosurflife.com, Surftime Magazine, and Lines Magazine