Chanin Aiyarak, president of the Thailand Surfing Federation (TSF), was delighted after Isabel Fae Hick finished in 49th place at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships 2022 in El Salvador recently.
The federation sent two young athletes -- Isabel and Nattakorn Saeiaw -- to participate in the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships for the first time.
They competed in the under-16 category and had satisfying performances
Isabel was 49th and Nattakorn 65th as Thailand were 42nd overall.
"It was the first international event for both young surfers. Their results exceeded our expectations," Chanin said.
"We initially wanted the kids to gain some experience from this tournament after we could not compete overseas for a long time due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But they did a good job.
"Isabel, in particular, makes people know more about athletes from Thailand. This is a good opportunity for the development of surfing for young Thais.
"The federation has focused on youth development as surfing is still new to Thailand.
"There are very few athletes in Thailand and we need a long-term development plan."
The next event is the 2022 ISA World Surfing Games in Huntington Beach in the US from Sept 17-14.
It also serves as a qualifying tournament for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
The Thai federation plans to send Isabel to participate in the event.