Nine-year-old Aaliyah Latheef has won the women’s category of the national surfing competition, the Rannamaari Challenge, becoming the youngest female surfer to claim a national championship title in the Maldives.
Aaliyah secured the title after defeating some of the country’s leading female surfers, including Ayya Naseem, one of the Maldives’ most accomplished female surfers.
In the semi-final, Aaliyah defeated Shaziya Saeed to advance to the final, where she delivered a winning performance with a score of 11.83.
Ayya, meanwhile, finished the final heat with a score of 5.23.
The victory marks another major milestone in Aaliyah’s young surfing career. Last year, she won the women’s category of a junior competition organised by the Maldives Surfing Association, becoming the country’s first junior female surfing champion.
Earlier this year, she also claimed a gold medal at an international surfing competition held in Sri Lanka, defeating strong local competitors.
