We have our own Momiji & Rayssa, hope to see Indian skateboarders in 2024 Paris Olympics

By Saurabh Duggal

The Day four of the Tokyo Olympics belongs to teenagers Momiji Nishiya, Rayssa Leal and Funa Nakayama. Japan’s Nishiya and Brazil’s Leal are just 13 and another skateboarder from Japan Nakayama is 16. All three are proud Olympic medal winners.

Nishiya grabbed gold in the women’s street skateboarding and became one of the youngest Olympic champions in the history of the Olympic Games. Leal followed her closely for silver, while the eldest of the lot, Nakayama, 16, won bronze.    

Skating boarding made its Olympic debut in Tokyo and it will also feature in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In India, skateboarding is gaining momentum and teenagers are winning national medals in the senior’s category. If the urban cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad have skate parks, the sport has its presence in rural India too. Village Janwaar in Madhya Pradesh, village Khempur in Rajasthan, Dhelpur in Mohali, Kovalam in Trivandrum are some of the rural pockets where the kids are enjoying rolling on wheels and board.    

Maharashtra’s Shubham Khurana and Sagar Waghela are among the world’s top-100 ranked skateboarders. Delhi’s 13-year-old Shivam Balhara had represented India twice in the world championship (Barcelona and China). He also got a wildcard to compete in the Olympic qualifiers in Rome, Italy, but as he was test positive for COVID he couldn’t travel.

In May this year, ‘Skater girl’ movie, based on skateboarding, was released on Netflix. The movie brought skateboarding to Rajasthan’s village Khempur, where the shooting was done. And a permanent skate park has been constructed.   

“In last four-five years, skateboarding has really picked up in India and in every national championship we are getting more and more participation from teenagers. Many of them are comfortably flipping their board in the air, sailing over staircases and doing difficult moves” says Naresh Kumar Sharma, secretary general of Roller Skating Federation of India (RSFI). “Our target is the 2024 Paris Olympics and we have three years to work on that. Hopefully, you will see Indian skateboarders in Paris,” says RSFI president Tulsi Ram Agarwal.