India’s surfers look to make waves at the 2026 Asian Games

When Sugar Shanti Banarse and Kamali Moorthy entered their first organised surf contest at the Covelong Classic in 2022, they were newcomers seeking experience rather than titles. Banarse, then 16, finished second and decided to pursue competitive surfing; Moorthy, 12 at the time, was motivated by the experience despite not catching a wave. Over the following years both intensified their training and earned places on India’s team for the Asian Games in Japan, where surfing is on the programme for the first time.

Their progress mirrors wider changes in Indian surfing. The sport, despite India’s long coastline, historically grew without formal structures: early surfers like coach Samai Reboul trained with little equipment or coaching in the 1990s, and organised domestic competition was scarce after the Surfing Federation of India (SFI) launched in 2011. Athletes often funded travel and accommodation themselves and balanced coaching or other work to stay in the sport; for example, Sivaraj Babu worked as an instructor and once camped in a forest to attend an event in Mangaluru.

A turning point arrived after Arun Vasu became SFI president in 2020. Vasu, who leads the TT Group, used corporate social responsibility funds to support a select group of surfers and encouraged more local coaches and judges to gain qualifications. Crucially, the SFI gained recognition from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in March 2025, unlocking government support through the Sports Authority of India and providing greater stability for the federation’s programmes.

With better funding and structure, the SFI expanded athlete support: coach Samai Reboul ran camps, staff included a sports psychologist and physical trainers, and the team gained access to video analysis tools for technique feedback. Exposure to higher-level competition also increased as the federation hosted World Surf League events and the Asian Surfing Championships, and Indian surfers travelled across Asia to experience different waves. That combination of resources and competition prepared Banarse, Moorthy and their male teammates Kishore Kumar and Sivaraj Babu for the continental stage at the Asian Games.