Hopefully in coming years, Indian surfers will compete in Olympics, says SFI Vice-President Rammohan

The Surfing Federation of India (SFI) officially launched the fifth edition of the Indian Open of Surfing, a premier national surfing competition, in the presence of the Vice President of the Federation, Rammohan Paranjape on Saturday. Scheduled to take place from May 31 to June 2 at the picturesque Sasihithlu Beach in Mangalore, the three-day event will be organized by the Surfing Swami Foundation and hosted by the local Mantra Surf Club under the aegis of SFI.

Rammohan Paranjape, the vice-president of the Surfing Federation of India (SFI), on Saturday expressed hope that some of the best surfers from the country would soon be a part of the Olympic games. The SFI VP also opened up on the upcoming fifth edition of the Indian Open Surfing. The Surfing Federation of India (SFI) officially launched the fifth edition of the Indian Open of Surfing, a premier national surfing competition, in the presence of the Vice President of the Federation, Rammohan Paranjape on Saturday. Scheduled to take place from May 31 to June 2 at the picturesque Sasihithlu Beach in Mangalore, the three-day event will be organized by the Surfing Swami Foundation and hosted by the local Mantra Surf Club under the aegis of SFI.

Speaking ahead of the competition to ANI this week, Rammohan said that earlier during the previous seasons of the Indian Open of Surfing, the federation had to rely heavily on festivities in order to drive attention towards the sport, but that is no longer the case and the sport needs no introduction among people, especially in Southern regions of India. "This is the fifth edition of the IOS (Indian Open of Surfing). There was some gap due to the pandemic. There were two editions before the pandemic. Now, the third and fourth after the pandemic. Earlier, it used to be like a festival. But now post-pandemic, we are just focusing on the sport. Back then, we need some festivities to make people aware of the sport. People used to come thinking that it was a festival, they would witness surfing and get introduced to it," said Rammohan.

"Now, there is no need for such introduction. People know about it. Down South, there is a lot of buzz about surfing. Now, we are focusing just on national championships and this IOS. This happens to be the second stop of the national series. We just concluded the first stop in Kerala. Then will come three stops in the East Coast," he added. Rammohan said that surfing is a relatively younger sport in India, and its two decades of existence in India, it has started gaining some popularity and momentum only in the first half. He also said that surfing is a sport that does not rely on infrastructure, but rather the waves in the sea, which makes it difficult for Indian players to compete in international events.

"Surfing is a relatively young sport in India. It has been around for two decades and only in the last 10 years, it has started to gain some buzz and momentum. Surfing is not like other sports, it is not all about infrastructure. It happens in the oceans. We are heavily dependent on the waves that Mother Nature provides to us. It takes a little more while for Indian surfers to get adjusted to and understand a wave (in foreign nations)," said Rammohan. He also said that last year, Indian surfers took part in Olympic Qualifiers in Ecuador, but could not qualify for the marquee event. Other than the Olympics, the federation's goal remains to develop a strong grassroots level programme etc for the sport, he added.

"Last year, we did play in the Olympic qualifier, sending top four Indian surfers. We conducted a camp for them, they were trained by foreign coaches and abroad too. But given the huge gap of our skill and that of other nations, we could not make it to the Olympics. The kind of effort we are putting in, with work on developmental programs, giving exposure to surfers via international events and different waves, international coaches etc, we hope that in the near future, a couple of our surfers will go to the Olympics. Our goal is not only Olympics, but also the goal is to develop a proper grassroots-level program and stuff," he said. Rammohan said that the sport has also helped the fishermen community, which stays closest to the sea and is well aware of the waves and movements of the sea and oceans. Some of the best players in the Indian surfing circuit are fishermen, he added.

"In the east coast, Kerala, Karnataka etc, fishermen are the closest to the sea. They know the sea, and the waves well. They are also very comfortable in water. Some of our best players are fishermen because of these factors. They are the ones driving this sport. The sport helps in tourism as well. They (fishermen) are getting tourists to the water, training them, establishing surf clubs etc. It has become a wonderful socio-economic reform, an alternative career to fishermen," he added. Rammohan said that currently, though the sport does not get support from the central government and faces a lack of funding, the governments in Southern states like Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu etc contribute keeping in mind the tourism potential of these competitions.

"They want the competitions to happen. There is a huge tourism benefit. They see the numbers growing every year," he added. Speaking on increasing the sport's popularity in non-coastal zones, Rammohan said that the focus is currently not on such areas. However, stand-up paddling, a sister sport of surfing where one paddles on a boat, is growing rapidly and could be added in the Olympics in the next 10 years or so.

"We are hoping that once it is included (in the Olympics), we can take it to the non-coastal areas since it is a sport which can be done in non-coastal areas, can be done in any water body," he concluded. (ANI)

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