Surfing in Chandigarh

Reviewed profileAchievements, tournaments, coaches and FAQs on this page are compiled by hand from federation, government and press reporting, drawing on Wikipedia — Surfing Federation of India, Surfing in India, IndiaSportsHub — World Surf League in India, National Surfing Championship 2025 coverage, News on Air — Asian Surfing Championship 2023 bronze medal coverage, Surfing Federation of India (surfingfederationofindia.org). These are not cited to individual documents: we hold no per-claim source for them, so treat dates, counts and career records here as a summary rather than a reference. Sections we hold nothing for are left empty. Sport pages last reviewed as a set: September 2026.

Overview

Origin: Polynesia
Category: Aquatic
Olympic discipline: Yes
Paralympic discipline: No
Central pathway: Olympic (TOPS eligible)
Athlete profiles on SportSupport: 1

Governance and status

Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Indian governing/organising body: Surfing Federation of India
Ministry recognition: Surfing Federation of India — Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — as at 2026Source: Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports — List of recognised National Sports Federations
International federation: Not currently verified
Khelo India inclusion: Not currently verified
TOPS eligibility: In scope — TOPS covers Olympic medal prospects
Olympic status: On the Olympic programme
Paralympic status: Not a Paralympic discipline

Surfing is listed on SportSupport in the aquatic category. Its recorded origin is Polynesia. It is on the Olympic programme. We list Surfing Federation of India as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.

Surfing is on the pathway that runs through India's national sports federations to the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), with selection running through Surfing Federation of India against its published benchmarks. Being on this pathway is not itself a statement that the discipline is currently in TOPS — TOPS covers a Core Group and a Development Group chosen by the Mission Olympic Cell.

Scholarships & Funding

Central, state and private scholarships available for surfing athletes in India.

Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)
Monthly stipend (₹10,000 for selected Khelo India athletes), boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.
Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)
Central government scheme covering training, foreign exposure, equipment and an out-of-pocket allowance (up to ₹50,000/month) for athletes inducted by the Mission Olympic Cell. TOPS covers a Core Group and a Development Group of disciplines rather than every Olympic sport, and induction is decided athlete by athlete; we hold no current list confirming whether surfing is among the covered disciplines.
National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to surfing.
Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons
Lifetime monthly pension (₹20,000 for Olympic/World/Asian/CWG medallists; scaled by tier) for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria — Government of India.

Explore all government schemes →

Indian Players

1 profiles

Sinchana D GowdaKarnataka
Sinchana D. Gowda Known as Sinchana Gowda is an Indian surfer. She won the second position in the international surfing championship held in Chennai in 2014.

Browse the full athlete directory →

Rules

Competitive surfing is run as timed heats — usually 20-35 minutes with two to four surfers in the water — in which each surfer's best two scoring waves are counted. A panel of judges scores every ride from 0.1 to 10 on commitment and degree of difficulty, innovative and progressive manoeuvres, combinations of major manoeuvres, variety, and speed, power and flow; the highest and lowest judge scores are dropped. Priority rules decide who has the right to a wave: the surfer closest to the peak, or holding priority after letting a wave pass, cannot be interfered with. Dropping in, paddling to block, or snaking another surfer draws an interference call, which removes the second-best wave score from the offender's total. Coloured jerseys identify surfers, and heats are won on the two-wave aggregate.

Authoritative rulebook: Surfing Federation of India. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.

Positions

Typical roles across aquatic sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced surfing squad list.

Swimming
Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and medley events at set distances.
Diving
Springboard and platform events scored by a judges' panel.
Water polo
Seven-a-side team match played in a pool.
Artistic swimming
Judged routines set to music, solo, duet or team.
Open water
Long-distance racing in a marked open-water course.

Equipment

Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in surfing at a federation-recognised event.

Surfboard — shortboard, longboard or fish — with fins and leash
Traction pad and wax, or a wetsuit for cooler water
Competition jersey issued per heat
Board bag, spare fins and fin key
Judging tower, priority system and heat hooter at contest sites
Swim training and balance boards for land conditioning

Governing/organising body

Body listed on SportSupport

Surfing Federation of India

Surfing Federation of India is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Surfing. Its recognition status as we hold it: Annual recognition renewed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports (as at 2026). Recognition is granted year by year, so read the federation profile for the source.

Origin: Polynesia
Olympic: Yes
Paralympic: No
Category: Aquatic

SFI profile →All federations →

Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in surfing.

Covelong Classic
The sport's flagship event (12th edition, 2025, Kovalam, Tamil Nadu), organized by the Surfing Federation of India (SFI, formerly Surfing India Association, founded by pioneers from Mantra Surf Club in Mulki, Karnataka — India's first surf community) and doubling as a World Surf League Wildcard Qualifier.
Indian Open of Surfing / Point Break Challenge / National Surfing Series
Additional national events held across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Odisha through state bodies — the Karnataka Surfing Association, Odisha Surfing Association, and Surfing and Water Sports Association of Tamil Nadu.

International Events

Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in surfing.

Asian Surfing Championship
India won bronze at the 2023 edition in the Maldives, with 18 nations competing.
World Surf League (WSL)
India hosted its first-ever WSL event in Mahabalipuram in August 2023; by 2026 India's calendar includes WSL-sanctioned events such as the Shore Temple Classic (QS 2000 and Pro Junior level).
Olympic Games
Surfing has been an Olympic sport since Tokyo 2020.

Leagues

No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for surfing. The national championship under Surfing Federation of India remains the top domestic competition.

All leagues →

International Players

Globally recognised surfing athletes to know outside India.

The international federation for surfing maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.

Career Options

Ways to build a career in surfing — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

A landmark governance moment: SFI president Arun Vasu was elected President of the Asian Surfing Federation on 7 August 2026, ending over a decade (2011-2026) of Japanese leadership of the region's surfing body — a major shift giving India real influence over Asian surfing's development and Olympic pathway
Surfing's growth in India traces to a remarkable grassroots story: Kovalam fisherman Murthy Megavan, after meeting an American surfer in the early 2000s, helped transform his fishing village into what's now called India's East Coast surfing capital, founding Covelong Point Surf School in 2012
Homegrown talent has followed: Kishore Kumar, who grew up training on Covelong's waves, upset seasoned international surfers to win the Men's International Open in 2022, then claimed the full National Championship title in 2025
Playing pathway through SFI's state associations and national series; coaching and surf-tourism careers are growing rapidly along India's east and west coasts

Explore sports careers →Coaches directory →

Related academies

0 listed

No surfing academies are catalogued in the directory yet. Browse the full academy list or list your academy to appear here.

All academies →List your academy →

Government Schemes

1 listed

Central and state schemes that fund training, stipends and awards for surfing athletes and academies.

Government of Maharashtra (Sports and Youth Services)
Maharashtra 5% Reservation for Meritorious Sportspersons (revised policy, 2026)
On 8 September 2026 the Maharashtra Cabinet approved a revised policy for the 5 per cent parallel reservation for meritorious sportspersons in direct recruitment in state government and semi-government bodies. Sports included in at least three consecutive Summer Olympic Games after 2005 qualify, and Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Chess, Mallakhamb and Cricket have been added as regional sports. Under the revised policy, sports certificates must be verified through a digital Sports E-Certificate system within three months, and earlier government resolutions on the quota were rescinded.

All government schemes →

FAQs

Common questions about surfing in India.

Who governs Surfing in India?▾

We list Surfing Federation of India as the Indian governing/organising body for Surfing, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group and state-level competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement that it is currently a recognised national sports federation — recognition is granted year by year.

Is Surfing an Olympic sport?▾

Yes, Surfing is on the Olympic programme. Athletes selected by Surfing Federation of India against its published criteria can be considered for TOPS funding.

How do I start playing Surfing in India?▾

The usual routes are a school team under the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), a college team under the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), or a private academy affiliated to your state association under Surfing Federation of India. Age-group state championships follow from there.

What government schemes support Surfing athletes?▾

TOPS supports a Core Group and a Development Group of disciplines selected by the Mission Olympic Cell, rather than every Olympic sport. We hold no current list confirming whether Surfing is among them, so we make no TOPS claim for it. State governments give cash awards to medallists at events they notify. Surfing does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.

Surfing in every state & UT

Dedicated pages for Surfing in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.