SYDNEY, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- A surfer has survived an encounter with a two-meter shark in Australia by punching it in the face.
Charlie Fry, a British doctor, was surfing at Avoca Beach, 95 km north of Sydney, on Monday afternoon when the shark jumped out of the water and hit him on the shoulder.
Fry said he thought the massive impact was just a friend playing a joke on him until he "saw a shark's head come out of the water with its teeth."
In a move he learned from Australian surfer Mick Fanning, who famously punched a shark at a 2015 World Surf League (WSL) event in South Africa, Fry punched the fish in the face with his left hand.
"I just punched it in the face... and just surfed my way in (to shore)," Fry told Australian breakfast television on Tuesday.
"Me and my friends have just started surfing, and we saw the YouTube clip of Mick Fanning saying he punched (a shark) in the nose.
"So when it happened I was like, 'Just do what Mick did, just punch it in the nose.'"
Fry escaped the very hectic incident with a few scratches and puncture wounds.
Two friends who he was surfing with, who are also doctors, drove him to a nearby hospital.
"It was a nervous swim in, with my bleeding arm," he said.
"I didn't really notice it at the time, because when you're surfing, all I was thinking was 'I'm about to die,' and I was just... thinking about getting in (to shore) as fast as possible.
"You just ride the wave as long as you can and start paddling for your life."
Avoca and North Avoca beaches remained closed on Tuesday as authorities closely monitored the water for any sign of the shark.
