Chennai: Surfing Federation of India (SFI) announced the first-ever Indian Surf team to represent the country at the ISA World Surfing Games 2023 to be held at El Salvador from May 30 to June 7.
Ajeesh Ali, Sanjay Selvamani and Sivaraj Babu from Tamil Nadu and Ramesh Budihal qualified for the event after a 3-stage selection process.
The ISA World Surfing Games also act as an Olympic qualifier event for Paris 2024 where Surfing will make its second appearance after its debut as an Olympic sport in Tokyo 2020.
Speaking on the developments, President of SFI Arun Vasu said, “The focus going forward will be the development of athletes in the Groms (16 years and under) Division who are the future of the sport and the Women surfers. This like any sport needs to be practiced from a young age. We already have a couple of very talented young athletes who along with the right training need the financial support so that their decision of pursuing a career as a Professional Surfer can be an easier one.”
The team is currently in Sri Lanka attending a 14 day training camp with the Head Coach Patrick Renaud, a former South African professional surfer who has previously managed the English Surf team to 4th place in European Surfing Championships. The team will be under his guidance for the next 5 months. They will further attend training camps and possibly competing in international competitions in Maldives and Sri Lanka to increase exposure.
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