In an attempt to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, 294 surfers from 63 countries began their journey at the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games on Wednesday.
India made their debut at the ISA World Surfing Games along with Czechia, Latvia and Mauritius.
63 surf nations united in peace through surfing at the Opening Ceremony of the 2023 @surfcity ISA World Surfing Games. pic.twitter.com/QnO9VYpheS
— International Surfing Association (@ISAsurfing) May 31, 2023
How many Indians are participating in the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games?
Three surfers, including Sivaraj Babu, are representing India in the 2023 ISA World Surfing Games.
Born into a family of fishermen, Babu followed the path of his elder brother and took up surfing.
Speaking to Olympics.com, the Indian said,
I used to roam around the beach and have fun with the beach. I used to surf half a board, a broken board, standing up on a broken surfboard. And I felt (like I was) flying on the board, super happy, riding on the surf on my first ride. I loved it so much, I wasn’t able to stop.
My parents, they are fishermen. They know a lot about the ocean. They were scared whenever I go surfing and they used to plead with me, don’t go surfing. I stayed away from the ocean, but still, when I saw that wave, I really wanted to surf, so I jumped back again.
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On Wednesday, Babu became the first Indian to compete at the World Surfing Games. After completing the heats, he said:
That means that it started, that Indians have started coming and hopefully in a few years, the champions come from India. I watched the flag and them waving, supporting me. It made me super happy. It was really hard to find the waves in this tricky condition, but I finished my heat.
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