Mahabalipuram success may bring national recognition to surfing federation

CHENNAI: The success of the World Surfing League (WSL) event held at Mahabalipuram may likely lead to the Union government recognising the Surfing Federation of India (SFI) as a national sports federation. The recognition will enable surfers to enjoy government benefits and bring in funding. A formal request was also made to Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to approve SFI as a member.

It was for the first time that the WSL event was organised in India, and it has seen as many as 56 international surfers in the men’s category and 14 in the women’s category competing. Twenty-one Indian athletes, mostly from Tamil Nadu, got wild cards entry into the event, putting India on the global surf map.

SFI president Arun Vasu told TNIE, “As soon as we received confirmation that India will be the host nation for the WSL event in May, we wrote to the Union Ministry of Youth Welfare and Sport and IOA highlighting the need for national-level recognition to advance the development of the sport in the country. Now, the ministry has responded positively and laid out a requirement to form 10 state surfing associations as a prerequisite to get the recognition, which we currently are working on.”

Vasu said SFI by-laws/rules were recently revised in line with the National Sports Code of India. The federation is already recognised by International Surfing Association (ISA). India has a 7,500-km long coastline with numerous point breaks and reef breaks, which has great potential to make surfing the next big thing. Ty Sorati, regional tour manager for Asia Pacific for WSL, told TNIE he was pleasantly surprised by the quality of waves in Mahabalipuram. “These waves are world-class and all the international surfers are satisfied with the conditions and hospitality. WSL will be happy to come back here again and organise another global event. Hope, this sport gets its due recognition at national level in India.”

Sorati said WSL is keen to enter new markets and India is always on top of the list. SFI treasurer Nawaz Jabbar said surfing has been approved by International Olympic Committee for inclusion at the 2024 Olympic games in Paris.

“We have some great young talents emerging. Only recently, the Indian surf team participating for the first in the Asian championship bagged the bronze medal. Two Tamil Nadu boys broke into the top 10 Asian rankings. This is the right time to encourage and provide our athletes with the required training to participate in the Olympics for which we are seeking the government’s support.”

Vasu said, as of date, Tamil Nadu Surfing Association is the only notable body that is recognised by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu.“We have received good support from Tamil Nadu government, which was the biggest sponsor for organising the WSL event in Mahabalipuram. Now, similar efforts are being made in Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra, Odisha etc where there are excellent surfable waves and conditions.”

The New Indian Express