Mahabalipuram, September 17 (Daily Kiran) : The Indian surfing team is gearing up for the upcoming Asian Games, with four athletes training under the guidance of French coach Samai Rebeul in Mahabalipuram. The games are set to take place from September 25 at Pacific Long Beach in Aichi, Japan.
India will be represented by two male and two female surfers in the shortboard events, marking surfing as one of six sports debuting at this major event. The male competitors are Kishore Kumar and Shivraj Babu, while the female surfers include Kamali Moorthy from Tamil Nadu and Shugar Shanti Banarse from Goa. This competition also serves as a qualifier for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Samai Rebeul leads the coaching staff, with Sanjay Selvamani assisting him. Rebeul was appointed head coach by the Indian Surfing Federation in 2024 and played a pivotal role in securing a historic bronze medal for India at the Asian Surfing Championship. He has been instrumental in organizing the national selection camp and preparing the team for high-performance training.
Sanjay Selvamani, a professional surf instructor and a pioneer in competitive surfing from Kovalam, represented India at the ISA World Surfing Games as part of the country’s first national team. He is now incorporating his international competition experience into the athletes’ training.
Rebeul, who holds a French passport, identifies as Indian after spending over half his life in Auroville, Puducherry. He shared, “My father is French, and my mother is Basque. They first heard about Sri Aurobindo and Auroville from friends while living in a remote area of northern Spain. They became intrigued and soon moved to India.”
The serene beach of Auroville has attracted many foreigners, including Rebeul, who found a sense of belonging through surfing. “I quickly felt at home and spent as much time in the water as I could, much to the annoyance of my parents and teachers,” he recalled.
Now, Rebeul is committed to giving back by establishing surfing in India. He was appointed head coach ahead of the Asian Surfing Championship in the Maldives in 2024. He emphasized that his journey to this point has been a natural progression fueled by passion, experience, and opportunity. With over a decade of coaching experience, he aims to continue growing as a coach, having obtained ISA coaching and judging qualifications.
Coaching the national team to a bronze medal in the Maldives was a significant achievement for Indian surfing, instilling confidence in the potential of Indian athletes. Rebeul believes the Asian Games will serve as a crucial test for India’s surfing capabilities and could mark a significant moment for the sport in the country.
He stated, “When a sport is included in an event like the Asian Games, it gains a different level of recognition. For athletes, it means representing an emerging surfing nation on one of Asia’s biggest sports stages. For young people in India watching, it showcases surfing as a viable sports career. As a coach, this is a significant responsibility. We’ve been working towards this, and now the athletes have the opportunity to show what Indian surfing can achieve.”
Leave a Comment