After finishing his engineering, Chennai boy Dharani Selvakumar decided to walk an untrodden path and turn his favourite hobby of catching waves into a profession. After entering these unknown waters in 2011, Dharani has been traversing the seas higher and higher. Today, he stands as one of the few most popular surfing champions in our country, while also being a fave surfing instructor among celebrities! Just like Dharani, Indian surfers have many tales to share, having seen the birth and growth of surfing as a sport in our country. As all of them gear up for the second edition of the Indian Open of Surfing, India’s top wave riders rejoice the sport’s evolution in our country. “Hailing from a fisherman community, being close to water always felt natural to me. I used to spend a lot of time in water even as a kid, and after I finished my graduation, I decided to pursue surfing as a career. This was at a time when the country had only a handful of surfers. It’s great to see how surfing has grown multifold over the years. After I started training people in surfing, I have many celebrities like actors Bharath, Arya, Regina Cassandra, and cricketers Dinesh Karthik, Murali Vijay coming to me,” says 23-year-old Dharani, who has taught over 4,000 people how to surf so far. He adds that events like the Indian Open of Surfing, which will be held from May 26 to 28 at Mangaluru’s Sasihithlu Beach, help in displaying the strength of surfers in India. Murthy Megavan’s similar love for the waters has made him an inspiration for many young boys at the Covelong fishing village. The 23-year-old started off riding the waves using Styrofoam boards to become a champion surfboarder and an internationally certified instructor. “Ever since I touched the board in 2001, I have seen the sport improve a lot. There has also been a lot of tourism associated with surfing, with many foreigners also getting to know about our surfers and surfing spots. It’s exciting to meet and know how other surfers are doing at competitions like these,” shares Murthy. While sports majorly remain male-dominated arenas, water sports like surfing were even harder for women to get into initially, when they weren’t very popular, says Aneesha Nayak, 16, one of the youngest surfers in the country. She adds, “My parents were scared that I’ll get tanned and that it’s a very challenging sport. But, after I represented India at the Asian Surfing Championship, my family realised that my passion lies in it. Women surfers are growing and winning big for India. We need more investments in the sport to scale it higher.” Tanvi Jagdish, a top stand up paddler and surfer echoes similar views. The teen, who came third at the West Marine Carolina Cup in USA, quips, “The sport is growing really fast and compared to the times when I started surfing in 2013, when there were only around three women surfers, there are many women taking the sport up. Surfing has been giving us the exposure and the opportunity to travel and see the world. It’s a great time to be surfing in India!”

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