India’s surfing coach Samai Reboul says the 2026 Asian Games are a key step as the national team builds towards Olympic qualification and Los Angeles 2028.
New Delhi, Sept. 17: India’s surfing campaign at the 2026 Asian Games will be another step towards a larger Olympic ambition, with national head coach Samai Reboul identifying the Los Angeles 2028 Games as the ultimate long-term goal.
The four-member Indian surfing squad is preparing in Mahabalipuram ahead of the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, where surfing will make its debut as one of six new sports. The competition is scheduled to be held at Pacific Long Beach from September 25.
India will field two surfers each in the men’s and women’s shortboard events. Kishore Kumar and Sivaraj Babu will compete in the men’s section, while Tamil Nadu’s Kamali Moorty and Goa’s Sugar Shanti Banarse will represent India in the women’s competition.
The Asian Games will also provide quota places for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, giving the Indian team an important opportunity to gain experience at a major multi-sport event.
Reboul, a former surfer and trained coach, was appointed head coach by the Surfing Federation of India in 2024. His coaching tenure has included national selection camps and high-performance preparations, as well as India’s campaign at the Asian Surfing Championships in Thulusdhoo, Maldives, where the team won a historic bronze medal.
Sanjay Selvamani is the deputy coach. A pioneer of competitive surfing in India from Kovalam and a professional surf instructor, Selvamani was part of India’s first national team at the ISA World Surfing Games. He now brings international competition experience to the national squad.
From France to Auroville
Although Reboul holds a French passport, the 41-year-old coach considers himself Indian after spending more than half his life in Auroville, Puducherry.
“My father is French and mother is Basque. They first heard about Sri Aurobindo and Auroville through friends while living in remote northern Spain. They were immediately intrigued. My father first came on his own to see what it was all about and within a short time of coming back we had our bags packed and were moving to India,” Reboul told SAI Media.
Surfing became an important part of his life after his family settled in Auroville.
“It didn’t take us long to find friends and feel at home. Surfing played a big role in giving me a place to feel comfortable in. Being in the ocean felt like home and I would spend as much time as I could in the water, much to the annoyance of my parents and teachers,” he said.
Reboul later worked as an instructor and managed Kallialay Surf School for more than a decade. His interest in developing as a coach led him to obtain ISA coaching and judging qualifications.
“Getting there was the result of a natural progression that happened through a combination of passion, experience and chance. I worked as an instructor and managed Kallialay Surf School for more than 10 years. Through this experience I always wanted to develop and grow as an instructor and I gained my ISA coaching and judging qualifications,” he said.
His appointment as national head coach in 2024 came ahead of the Asian Surfing Championships in the Maldives. India's bronze medal there provided an early indication of the progress being made by the national programme.
Asian Games a key test
Reboul sees the Aichi-Nagoya Games as an important test of India's progress and an opportunity to give surfing greater visibility in the country.
“When a sport enters an event like the Asian Games, it gets a completely different level of recognition. For the athletes, it means they can represent a developing surfing nation on one of the biggest sporting stages in Asia,” he said.
“For young people watching in India, it also showcases surfing as a serious sporting pathway. As a coach, it is also a great responsibility. We have been working towards this for some time, and now the athletes have the opportunity to show what Indian surfing can do,” he added.
India has more than 7,000 kilometres of coastline, providing considerable scope for the development of surfing. Organised competitive surfing began taking shape in the country in 2011 with the formation of the national governing body, which is recognised by the International Surfing Association and Asian Surfing Federation. The first national championship followed in 2013.
The sport has since expanded into a National Surf Series featuring events along the Indian coastline. These include the Indian Open of Surfing in Mangaluru, Mahabs Point Break Challenge in Mahabalipuram, Covelong Classic in Kovalam, Puducherry Surf Open, International Surfing Festival in Kerala and the Little Andaman Pro in the Andaman Islands.
Reboul said sustained investment and time would be necessary for India to build a stronger surfing ecosystem.
“What we need now is time and investment. Surfing cultures take time to develop. India is building that now. We are seeing better competitions, better coaching, more young surfers coming through and more athletes getting international experience,” he said.
“The fact that India qualified for the 2026 Asian Games is itself an important step in that development. I would say we are clearly moving in the right direction,” he added.
Building towards Los Angeles
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier spoken about the need for India to take sports such as surfing and climbing seriously, pointing to the country's natural resources and the need to compete at the Olympic level.
Reboul said the Olympics formed part of the long-term vision, but argued that the focus should first be on developing a sustainable system for Indian surfers.
“The Olympics is definitely part of the long-term vision, but to get there an important objective is to create sustainable pathways for Indian surfers to develop from a young age and eventually compete at the highest international level. The 2026 Asian Games are an important step,” he said.
“After that, we need to build towards the 2028 Olympics and beyond. For me, success would be having Indian surfers who are regularly competing internationally, travelling with the needed support, understanding professional competition and being capable of qualifying for major events,” Reboul said.
“If we do that properly, Olympic qualification, the ultimate goal, becomes a consequence of a strong system rather than a one-off objective,” he added.
Learning from the ocean
Reboul also draws a connection between surfing and the spiritual environment of Auroville, saying the sport teaches athletes to adapt to conditions they cannot control.
“For me, the connection between spirituality and surfing is very strong. The ocean is very good at reminding us that we are not in control. You can prepare perfectly, paddle out and then the waves can be completely different from what you expected. So, you learn to adapt. You learn patience. You learn to observe,” he said.
He said surfing also requires athletes to remain completely focused on the immediate conditions.
“To surf well, you need to be completely present. You cannot be thinking about yesterday or tomorrow — you are entirely focused on reading the wave and responding to what is happening in that exact moment,” Reboul explained.
He described this as a flow state that can allow an athlete to enter a deep state of meditation.
India's qualification for the Asian Games marks its first appearance in surfing at the continental event. For the national programme, the competition will provide both a major international test and an opportunity to build towards the next stage of its Olympic ambitions.
