Skateboarding in India
Skateboarding in India | |
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![]() Mitchie Brusco, Kevin Staab and Andy Macdonald at a skateboarding event in Mumbai in 2011 | |
Country | India |
Governing body | Roller Skating Federation of India (India Skate) |
National team(s) | India |
Skateboarding is a sport that is rapidly rising in mainstream popularity in India.[1][2][3]
British skater Nick Smith built the first-ever Sk8 Bowl in India in Goa in the early 2000s.[3][1] Smith also founded India's first skating crew, 'Holystoked'.[1]
The NGO Make Life Skate Life constructed the Holystoked Skatepark, India's first free of charge public skatepark in Bangalore.[4]
India's first rural skate park, Janwaar Castle, in Janwaar village in Bundelkhand, Madhya Pradesh, teaches children to skate.[5][6] It is free of charge for village children, with the only condition that the children must attend school. The children respect girls and help to bridge caste differences.
Holystoked intends to begin production of skateboards in India instead of importing them from China.[3]
Skateboarding is also popular in Sikkim.[7]
Skateboarding is rising in popularity in the western city of Pune, where it is practiced in JM Road, Pashan and Bavdhan.[8][9]
Shraddha Gaikwad from Pune won gold at the 2016 National Games in the skateboarding street category.[10] Several girls across the country are taking up the sport.[11] Girl Skate India, headed by India's first professional woman skater Atita Varghese, is an organisation that has been encouraging girls to take up skating since 2015.[3] Gaikwad and Varghese appeared in the 2021 Netflix film Skater Girl.[12][13]
The sport is also practiced in Delhi.[14][15]
At the age of 8 years, Zarah Ann Gladys became the youngest competitor at the World Skateboarding Tour 2024 in Dubai.[16] In December 2022, she won a silver medal at India's National Roller-Skating Championships in the under-9 age group.[17]
Mohammed Khadir, Harshad Kamble, Devappa, Satya Raineri, and Sagar Waghela are upcoming Indian skaters.[18]
Jugaad is an annual national skateboarding competition.[1] It was held in Delhi in 2015 and in Bangalore in 2016.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Jamooji, Shireen (8 June 2021). "Highlight Reel: The Evolution Of Skate Culture In India". Homegrown. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ Paitandy, Priyadarshini (28 January 2023). "Since its recent inception in the Olympics, skateboarding is having a moment in India. Have you stepped on the board yet?". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d "The Established: Style, Self, Culture, Community - Voice of a new generation". www.theestablished.com. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "India". Make Life Skate Life. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ^ "No School, No Skateboarding: India's First Rural Skate Park". Hindustantimes.com. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "HISTORY TV18 | Skateboarding Village". HISTORY TV18. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "Skate kids of Sikkim: photos of India's skateboarders". Dazed. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "Pune skateboarding scene rolls towards accessibility and visibility". The Indian Express. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "Skateboarding takes over the city streets". The Times of India. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ Bhat, Pranita (26 October 2023). "Beating Odds, Security Guard's Daughter Skates Her Way to National Gold". The Better India. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "'We say, skate and destroy! Just commit and do it': India's skatergirl pioneers". The Guardian. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ Noronha, Navin (21 June 2023). "India's First Girl Skateboarder Is Creating Waves Around The World". Vice. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "When Madars Apse met Atita Verghese". Red Bull. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "Swizzle and glide with Delhi's skating squad". The Times of India. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "India's skateboard culture takes off at Delhi park – DW – 08/30/2023". dw.com. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "Zarah Ann Gladys of India youngest competitor at World Skateboarding Tour 2024 in Dubai". Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "How Zarah Ann Gladys, 8, is taking the skateboarding world by storm". The Week. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "Five skateboarders in India ripping the scene". Red Bull. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
Further reading
[edit]- Ganesan, Uthra (19 July 2024). "Ahead of the Paris Olympics 2024, a look at India's skateboarding journey so far For Indian skateboarders nursing medal hopes, the dearth of government support is possibly the biggest stumbling block". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 July 2024.